


From All Sides

by PrettyPettyPastel, SugarsnapCaely



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic), Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: But no seriously, Character Bonding, Classic Victorian No Homo, Co-Written, Crossover, Danger 2: Electric Boogaloo, Danger is coming, Fun times on the way, Funny, Gen, Get ready for danger too, Please just let those two be together, Trust me there's plot!!, get ready for it, this is gonna be a fun one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2020-12-07 21:17:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyPettyPastel/pseuds/PrettyPettyPastel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarsnapCaely/pseuds/SugarsnapCaely
Summary: Marvin decides to experiment with Jameson Jackson's magic pocket watch. The results are quite a strange case. Especially when it brings none other than Henry Jekyll and several of his grand society's lodgers into their living room. Now, they must find a way to get them back home. But danger always lurks around the corner, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WELL LOOK WHO'S BACK!
> 
> What up all of my lovely readers, I am here to tell you that the writing spirits have been returned to me! However, this time they brought a friend.
> 
> This is a story that I co-wrote with a friend of mine. (She wrote the TGS parts) You can find her on Tumblr at, @pretty-petty-pastel and her art blog, @petty-pastel-paintings. 
> 
> This first chapter has been a blast to write together and I can't wait for more.

The gentle ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner of the room and the muffled birdsong from outside provided the perfect atmosphere within the room. That perfect blend of almost silence. _ Fwip _. The only additional sound was the gentle turn of a page.

Jameson Jackson was currently positioned in his little armchair, his feet resting on the makeshift ottoman that just so happened to be a decent sized cardboard box. He had recently received a new antique that he had purchased but had not quite found a spot for.

_ Fwip _ . He turned another page, adjusting his position as he did so. He was reading an old favorite of his: _ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde _. It had been a while since he had last read it given that he had had to purchase it again on account of misplacing it. He had just gotten to the part where Gabriel John Utterson had read Henry Jekyll’s will when he was interrupted by a not-so-silent noise.

He jerked his head up, an exclamation point and question mark appearing over it as Marvin practically burst his head through the door.

“Yo, James! You got a moment?!” 

James glanced at his book; he really wanted to keep reading. However, the smile on Marvin’s face along with the vibration in his body told JJ that whatever he wanted was important. Reluctantly, he placed a bookmark in the page and laid it down in the chair. “**Yeah, sure.**” He replied with the usual speech-bubble above his head.

* * *

The society had been in total chaos since the building caught fire. No one knew where their work had gone, what could be salvaged, or what the living arrangements would be. In the meantime, Dr. Jekyll was attempting to get some semblance of order back. 

As of now, he had an appointment with a possible sponsor at 7, a treatment session with Frankenstein at 8:30, a society meeting at 9, and a meeting with the construction workers in order to get an estimate on the cost of the damages. Not only to the society, but also to the _ block. _

Jekyll sighed, looking at his pocket watch. If he didnt leave now, he would be late to his meeting! He grabbed his cloak, cane, and a top hat, along with a small scone, and rushed out to his carriage, quickly instructing the coach man on where to go. 

* * *

“Alright, so I’ve been thinking lately,” Marvin started as he opened the door to his little work place. As James stepped into the room he took note of the large, disorganized bookshelf filled with scrolls and tomes and assortment of strange otherworldly supplies. Stacked in a corner of the room were the items for Marvin’s various magical illusion shows, waiting for the chance to be used again. There was the squawk of some creature Marvin was studying in a cage. The smell of spices and flowers filled his nostrils as he glanced at the little brewing table opposite the window.

He always liked the slight chaos of this room. To put it most obviously, he loved how magical it all felt. It was different and fun to him, but at the same time there was always that edge of danger. There were many things he did not understand about all of this, it wasn’t really his expertise after all. Nonetheless, he loved every bit of it.

He glanced down as he felt Marvin’s cat, Pips, brush up against his legs. With a smile, he gave him a good scratch behind the ears as he continued to the little seating area towards the middle of the room.

Marvin continued, “I’ve been studying so many different things lately, and well, I just received a scroll about time.”

James was suddenly worried about where this was going.

Marvin draped his arm over James’s shoulders. “So~, I was wondering if we could do some experimenting on your nifty little pocket watch.”

James sidestepped, giving Marvin a stern look.

“Oh come on!” Marvin raised his hands in the air, “It’s just a few little magical experiments!”

James held his ground, placing his hands on his hips.

“Pleeeeaaase?”

James sighed, a little cartoonish cloud puffing out as he did so. “**I am not entirely the one you should be asking.**”

“Aw man, I’m sorry. Where is Estelle at anyway?”

“Right here.” The shy, reverberant voice of a little girl drew Marvin’s attention to the ground. Estelle floated out from the gold-colored pocket watch in James’s pocket.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked you first.” Marvin rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I just got so excited…”

The little ghost giggled. “It’s ok, although you _ might _ just go on my Big Goofball list.”

Marvin gave an exaggerated gasp, “You wouldn’t _ dare _.”

She stuck out her tongue, giving another giggle.

“So, is that a yes?”

“Mm-hm.” Her little bug antenna headband bobbed along with her head.

“Yes!” Marvin pumped his fist in the air. “Let’s do this!”

James reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch. As he deposited it in Marvin’s hand, he asked, “**So, how long do you think this will take?**”

“Well~…”

James’s entire body slouched as he sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Jekyll's fake smile wavered as he returned to his carriage, finally able to relax and be himself again. The meeting went off without a hitch, and the sponsor was going to donate a quarter of the money he needed to at least get the skeleton of the society built!

As he looked at the window, Hyde's form began to take shape. ** _Another meeting, eh? More begging and pleading for money you can’t make? Pathetic. _ **

"Shut it, you know full well that we would have enough money if you didn't go and explode the whole block!" 

** _Come on now, Henry! It was all in good fun! Besides, I killed that pesky Moreau fellow, didn't I? _ **

Henry held his head in his hands, sighing. "Yes, i suppose you did, but you also got the Lodgers arrested!"

Hyde growled at Jekyll, floating over to him and wrapping himself around Jekyll.

** _Come now, don't you feel I should be rewarded? It's a small amount of collateral damage!_ **

"No, Hyde." He swatted him away as if Hyde was a petulant child who didn't get the latest toy, and was having a fit in the square about it. 

Hyde growled once more, louder this time. ** _You'll let me out soon enough! _ **Hyde dissipated, leaving Jekyll to his thoughts.

* * *

Another flash of light would have blinded James if he hadn’t gotten into the routine of closing his eyes every time he heard a certain noise. He was currently positioned in a chair, his head resting on his arms, as he watched Marvin work his quite literal magic.

While he himself was dozing off, he could tell that both Marvin and Estelle were wide awake. They were both staring intently at the pocket watch, waiting to see the results of whatever was happening now. Estelle was asking so many questions to the point where Marvin had to ask her to be quiet at times. Meanwhile, Marvin was seen scribbling in a spare scroll. How he could write without breaking eye contact with the watch was beyond James.

He had watched them perform experiment after experiment. Some tests involved creatures or spells or even looking at the inner components. James swore both his and Estelle’s hearts stopped when Marvin tried to do that. Thankfully, he decided to let James take care of opening the watch.

Right now, Marvin was currently back to testing spells after he found yet another scroll hidden on the shelf. Seriously, one of these days James would go in there and help him organize it.

“It’s so interesting how this watch has not only a mental and aura connection to Estelle, but also one to you, James.” Marvin put the pen down, shaking and flexing his hand to remove the cramps. “I mean, it’s almost as if the watch latches onto the first thing it touches. As if it has a mind of its own.”

James nodded, his expression brightening. That was a question that had been on his mind for a long time.

“However, it only seems to connect for you and Estelle. Not for anyone else. It’s so interesting, you know?” Marvin stood up from his chair the excitement getting to him. “I just wish I could figure out how.”

“Yeah!” Estelle chimed in, practically twirling in the air. “What if…what if you could use your colored plant water to help you?”

“My what?”

“Your magic plant water.” She floated over to his brewing station, indicating a glowing blue substance in a bottle.

“Ohhh, you mean my potions.” Marvin stood still for a minute. A lightbulb would have appeared over his head if he had the ability to! “Estelle, you’re a genius!”

She literally glowed with pride at that statement. She turned to watch Marvin as he bolted to his brewing station, picking up bottles and plants alike. If she hadn’t floated back over to James, Marvin would have walked right through her!

Marvin placed the materials he had acquired onto the main table, sorting them into categories James could not understand.

“Alright, if we are going to figure out how you guys connect to this thing, we’re gonna need to bring in the fancy stuff.” Marvin rolled up his sleeves. “And I don’t just mean the magic water. I’m talking mixing in spells.”

James tensed in his chair. He knew Marvin was smart, but he also knew he could be ignorant. What if this hurt Estelle? Oh goodness, what if it destroyed the watch!

James stood up from his chair, placing his hands over the pocket watch. He looked at Marvin with wide eyes, vigorously shaking his head.

Marvin’s expression softened as he returned the gaze. “Hey,” he began, setting down the bottle of liquid he had been mixing together, “I know how important this watch is to you.” He glanced at Estelle, noticing her confused yet equally concerned expression. “To both of you.”

Marvin placed his hand on James’s shoulder. “I will make sure that this pocket watch remains in perfect condition.” James felt the grip tighten. “And that’s a _ promise _.”

James eased his body off of the watch, the tension in his muscles unraveling. Marvin took this as a sign to pick up the beaker and continue his procedure.

He set the beaker on the table and measured the amount of liquid as he poured a clear substance into the blue one. Upon finding it to be level he waved his hand over the bottle, letting a few green sparks drift down the neck. Satisfied, he picked it up and allowed a tiny drop to escape onto the watch.

Nothing happened.

“Ok, let’s try something else.”

Estelle floated closer to Marvin, peering over his shoulder as she watched him whip up another concoction. Magic plant water was fun! This one glowed a pretty purple color. “Ooo~, Pretty~!”

Once again, Marvin carefully let a larger drop fall onto the watch. This time it glowed that signature golden color and there was an indescribable...feeling in the room. Almost like a sort of breeze.

The corner of James’s mouth perked up and his eyes brightened. This was exactly why he loved Marvin’s work!

The ground rumbled, shaking the room and causing James to stumble out of his chair. Pips yowled, skittering underneath a chair. Estelle shrieked, diving back into the watch as Marvin panicked, trying to keep all of his stuff from falling over.

This is exactly why James did _ not _ like Marvin’s work.

* * *

He looked back out the window and saw the husk of the society oddly empty. That was out of the ordinary… usually it was bustling with people trying to console and comfort one another, as well as searching for lost work! It was never this blank… Jekyll sent away the Coachman, stepping into the charred foye. He heard the distant sound of chatter and aggressive journaling, following the sound deeper into the society. Once he entered the back room of the dining hall, he gasped.

Standing before him was a… hole? In the back of the dining hall? Not even on an object, just hanging in the air…

"What is the meaning of this!?"

Jasper Kaylock looked away from the tear, turning towards Henry. "Dr. Jekyll! There you are! I've been wondering where you were! This… thing opened while me and Rachel were talking! We grabbed Dr. Ito, and then word spread, now everyone is here!"

"Jasper, calm down! It'll be alright! I just need to get the lodgers back to their rooms, and then we can quarantine the dining hall! We'll actually try and deal with… whatever this is… later!" He put his hands on Jasper's shoulders, giving a reassuring smile.

He let go of Jasper, quickly walking to the nearest vantage point.

"Alright everyone! May I have your attention?"

All of the lodgers turned to look at him, confusion and annoyance written across their faces.

"As you can tell, we have a bit of a situation! As of now, we do not know what this thing is, how dangerous or powerful it could be, or how it operates! Because of this, I must implore you to exit the dining hall! You may take notes later, but for now you must leave!"

The lodgers grumbled, each saying something about being disappointed, before leaving the room, returning to their normal duties.

"See, wasn't that hard, now was it?" But before Jasper could respond, the sound of crunching under ones shoes was heard, growing closer to the dining hall.

Dr. Robert Lanyon rushed into the room, a panicked look on his face. "Henry? Are you okay?" He looked around the room, his eyes landing on Jekyll and Jasper.

"Thank goodness! I simply heard there was situation at the Society, so I ran over here! I was worried that someone was hurt…" he relaxed a little, smiling. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

Henry became confused. Did he really not see the GIANT PORTAL in the room? "It's uh… that..." He pointed at the rip in space-time.

Lanyon stopped, processing this information for a second, before finally saying, "JESUS CHRIST, LORD IN HEAVEN! WHAT IS THAT!?" 

"Well all I know is that… oh hey! There you are Master Jekyll!" Rachel Pidgely stepped into the room via the door closest to the tear, staring at it. "Ooo, what's this?" She poked the portal, quickly becoming sucked in.

"RACHEL!" Jasper quickly followed suit, jumping through the portal.

"DAMN IT, JASPER!" Jekyll also leaped through the portal, extremely scared for his friends.

"Why… why did I choose him?" Lanyon walked over to the portal, twisting his eyes shut and placing his hand against it, being pulled into this rabbit hole as well.

The moment the four friends left, the lodgers returned, and continued logging the rift.

* * *

James heaved in one breath after another as he stood back up. After giving his head a light shake, he began to help Marvin clean up any materials that had been knocked out of place during the...the…

“**What on earth was ** ** _that_ ** **?**”

“I...I don’t know,” Marvin stuttered, placing another scroll in his arms.

“**Well, you ** ** _better_ ** ** know your onions. Something bad could happen.**”

“I know, I know.”

A tiny whisper of a voice sounded from the watch, which was still sitting, surprisingly neat, on the table. “Is the shaking gone?”

“Yeah,” Marvin replied, cleaning up the spilled potion on the table. “That seemed to be the worst of it.”

Cautiously, she materialized from the trinket wringing her little hands together. “I wish I could help…”

“Well,” Marvin’s gaze peered around the room as he turned to her, “ I suppose you could help look for Pips. Being intangible you can certainly get into tighter spots than either of us can.”

She smiled a little at that and went about her search, calling out the cat’s name.

James periodically looked over at Marvin, his brow furrowed.

“Don’t worry, like I said, that seemed to be the worst of it. Now, help me lift this box, will you?” Marvin said, putting his hand under one of the corners.

A loud crash came from downstairs.

James’s foot was nearly crushed as the two of them dropped the box. 

“MARVIN!!”

The color in the magician’s face drained.

“Shit.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter was so fun to write. Seriously, go give my friend some love. She may not write often, but she's so good!
> 
> Additionally, for those of you who have no idea what The Glass Scientists is I HIGHLY recommend it. It's such a good webcomic and I guarantee you will like it. No need to already be a J&H fan because of the musical like I was. Which you should also check that out, especially the version with Anthony Warlow. He has a voice like freaking MAGIC.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any punctuation errors invlving italics is due to Google Docs. Apparently, the difference in AO3 and GD's formats does not like to agree all the time.
> 
> Make sure to give my co-author some love! She's really good! You can find her on Tumblr at, @pretty-petty-pastel and her art blog, @petty-pastel-paintings.

Henry gingerly lifted his head, an intense throbbing throwing him for a loop. "Where… where are we?" He opened his eyes, finding himself on a carpeted floor.

** _Well, since you were being an impulsive _ ** **idiot, ** ** _you got us sent through the portal!_ **

"Ugh, I wasn't being--" He was suddenly cut off by an angry scream coming from nearby. Shit, he was around other people. Maybe he could play it off?

Henry attempted to push himself up, quickly being helped by a man in what appeared to be a full body cloak… was that a thing?

Jackie Wayne helped the very well dressed man to his feet, “You alright there, man?” There was a tinge of irritation to his voice. What the  _ hell _ had Marvin done this time? Who were these people?

Questions swam through his mind as he helped the others to their feet as well.

Henry dusted himself off, quickly doing a headcount before speaking. "Yes, quite! Apologies, we were simply  _ observing _ , _ "  _ he shot Rachel a look, "a rift in our dining hall, and then we showed up here! I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll," he held out his hand, a slight smell of peppermint filling the room, "and you are?"

Jackie shook his hand, “The name’s Jackie, Jackie Wayne.” As he put his hand back into his sweatshirt pocket he glanced back at the rest of this gang. Now all he had to do was--

There was the sound of feet rushing down the stairs and then the hallway. 

Right on schedule.

Jackie turned around to see a very frazzled Marvin with James not far behind.

“There you are. Now,” Jackie stepped aside, “would you mind explaining _ this _ ?”

Marvin licked his lips as he looked at the group of people, “Oh...oh boy…”

“Oh boy indeed. You fucked up, Marvin. You fucked up big time.” 

Jekyll stared at the two new people who just joined them, one in a cape, and the other… well dressed? That was a first, everyone else here seemed to be in more… casual clothing, more fit for the bedtime hours.

Lanyon put a hand on Henry's shoulder, concern and slight fear in his eyes. "Jekyll, what the devil is happening?"

"Yeah," Jasper said, "this ain't the Society!"

"And this  _ definitely _ isn't a different place in the world! Unless…" Rachel poked around the room, quickly becoming distracted.

"Everyone! Calm down, there has to be an explanation for this! I mean, we're men and women of science for God's sake! We've handled worse!" After this slight pep talk, the group seemed to relax a bit.

** _Good job on herding your _ ** **sheep** ** _._ **

“Yes, Marvin. Start  _ explaining _ .” Jackie could barely keep down the anger in his voice, but he knew he had to stay calm.

Marvin gave a sort of weak laugh, shifting in place, unsure of what to say. “Funny you should ask that. I uhh, well you see, I wanted to borrow James’s watch so I could work on uhh…” His eyes glanced over at the group of strangers. What was he supposed to say,  _ magic _ ? He didn’t know who these people were. For all he knew they could be from Salem or something. He felt himself tense up at that thought.

He tried to look at James for assistance, but all he did was give a don’t-look-at-me gesture.

“So I could uhh work on some...repairs…” He summoned his inner showman. He had to look confident! “Yeah, James’s watch had been acting funny lately; it wasn’t telling the correct time. So I decided to take it to my room and fix it.”

Jackie sighed, “That still doesn’t explain  _ this _ .”

Marvin  _ really _ wanted to bang his head against a wall right now.

"Well, I believe some introductions are in order, yes? I've already become acquainted with you, Mr. Wayne, but I still haven't introduced all my friends! This one here," he patted Lanyon's hand, "Is Dr. Robert Lanyon! My best friend!" He gestured over to Jasper, who very shyly waved his hand. "This is Jasper Kaylock, cryptozoologist, and werewolf!" He then smiled widely, looking over to Rachel. "And last, but not least, Rachel Pidgely! Cook, and good friend!" He turned back to the three in the room, clapping his hands together. "And of course, I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll! Pleasure to meet you all!" 

James’s eyebrows would have left his head if they could. This couldn’t be. It had to be a coincidence, right? There was  _ no way _ . Lanyon and Jekyll were standing in his living room. But wait, wouldn’t that also mean...No, no! It could just be a coincidence. After all, they just mentioned werewolves.  _ Those _ certainly were not in the book! It just had to be a coincidence.

Marvin heaved a sigh, “Werewolves. Oh thank goodness, you people know magic.” He practically bolted up to them, smiling, “The name’s Marvin Hayes. AKA, Marvin the Magnificent!” He flourished dramatically with his cape, always a showman.

Jekyll blinked, before slapping his smile back on. "Wonderful! A fellow arcane scientist! Maybe you could help us figure out a way to get us back home?" 

“Scientist, huh?” The magician put his hand to his chin. “I’ve never thought of it like that. I’ve always been more of a wizard.” Marvin waved his hand through the air, a green aura trail flowing behind it.

Jekyll perked up at the sight, quickly rushing over and grabbing Marvin's hand. "How are you doing that? Is it a potion? Maybe a mechanism? Ooo! Did you use powdered green trick with a dab of gunpowder…" Lanyon walked over to Jekyll, gently pulling him back.

"My apologies, good sir! He's usually very respectful, isn't that right,  _ Henry?"  _ He tightened his grip on the man, quickly snapping him out of his focused trance. 

"Ah! Yes, goodness, I don't know what got into me!"

“What do you mean, ‘What am I doing?’ I thought you knew magic.” He pointed at Jasper, almost exasperated, “You said he was a werewolf!” 

Henry recomposed himself. "Ah, I see the miscommunication here! You believe that our study of the arcane is the study of magic, which isn't so! Our studies at the Society pertain to things such as alchemy, transmogrification, and the like! Not magic like what you're doing now." He gestured to Jasper, his lack of understanding of social cues getting the best of him. "Jasper is a werewolf, yes, but he's also far different from the ones portrayed in the media! This young man was bitten, and is currently documenting his experience as a werewolf, as well as attempting to create a wolfsbane potion to return to his normal self."

Jasper curled in on himself slightly, trying to hide from all the people staring at him.

** _Great job, Jekyll, you've embarrassed the wolfboy!_ **

“Oh, cool! But yeah, to answer your question, I actually learned how to do this!” A wistful, nostalgic look spread across his face as Marvin recalled his childhood. “I found this hidden room in my old house when I was a kid. It was just  _ full  _ of magic stuff.” He gestured with his hands to emphasize the amount of said magic stuff.

“Most importantly, I found all these old scrolls which were from this magic school. And I’ve been learning ever since.” He smiled, quite proud of his talents.

"Fascinating..." A loud squawk rang out, cutting off Jekyll before he could say anymore. A small, chicken like creature appeared in the room, quickly being caught by Jasper.

"Christopher! What're ya doin here, buddy? I thought I told you to stay in our room!" The bird simply pecked Jasper's nose, seemingly not caring about the scolding he just got.

Marvin gasped, rushing to Jasper’s side. “Dude, holy shit is that a phoenix? Oh my god it’s like a phoenix  _ chicken _ !!” Marvin kept hopping from one foot to another like an excited child, which he very much was.

Jasper stood up, holding Christopher in his arms and smiling. "Actually, Christopher here is a little mud Phoenix! I raised him myself! He's still moltin' his baby flames, so be careful! He's also very skittish in new places, so please be gentle! It'll take some time for him to adjust to his new surroundings." He began to pet the little phoenix, seeming to relax a little in it's presence.

"Ooo! What's this big rectangle on the ceiling?" Rachel opened the microwave, looking inside. "What's it do?"

Chase walked through the doorway to the kitchen, whistling as he went to grab himself a snack. He’d only just realized that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which as Henrik would say, was not particularly healthy. 

Before he could even make it to the fridge he noticed someone poking their head in the microwave. “Oh. Who’s date are you?” It was the only logical conclusion after all. Friends were a bit too risky to bring to the house.

Rachel's face turned red as a loud  _ SLAP _ emerged from the kitchen, along with her storming out. "I am NOT a date! I am a strong, independent woman!" Jekyll stared at the sudden exchange, Lanyon laughing next to him.

"Don't laugh, Robert!"

"Come on, it's a little funny! Loosen up, Henry!" He smiled widely, his freckles lining his face like stars, the amber in his eyes-- no. No! He's a friend, only a friend!

** _That's not what you thought yesterday, huh Jekyll?_ **

Chase quickly poked his head out of the kitchen rubbing his sore cheek, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like…” Before he could finish he saw the crowd before him, stepping fully out of the kitchen, glancing at his friends. “Uhh...What’d I miss?”

“A lot Chase. You missed a lot.” Jackie deadpanned. He glanced over at James, noticing the nervous look on his face. He hadn’t introduced himself yet, which was rather out of character for him. Jackie walked over to him, pointing at the other group with his head. 

James responded with a look that said it all: What do I do?

Jekyll coughed, attempting to not explode at Hyde right then and there. "Oh! Hello there, sir! Who are you?"

** _Come on, break! Show them all who you _ ** **really** ** _ are._ **

relax, Jekyll, relax. He's just there to ann--

** _I can hear you! Come on now, you know you can't get rid of me!_ **

"Can I be excused for a moment?" Jekyll said, attempting to look normal.

Just a coincidence. Just a coincidence. Just a coincidence. James needed to sit down. How was he going to speak to them? He could at least try signing, right? And then the others could translate! Perfect! That was a good place to start. He sunk into the couch, trying to remain calm.

Jackie sat next to him, gently rubbing the middle of his back. He turned to Henry and replied, “Yeah, we have a bathroom down the hall over there.” He gestured with a tilt of the head. “It’s the door next to the stairs.”

"Thank you." He left as quickly as he could without seeming suspicious, closing the bathroom door behind him and locking it. He looked in the mirror, Hyde staring back at him.

** _Wow, it only took that much to get ya to leave? Am I _ ** **that** ** _ annoying?_ **

"Edward. You need to shut your mouth for once, and let me handle this! No distractions!"

** _And what's in it for me? Hmm? _ **

"I'll let you out tonight." Henry regretted saying that the moment it left his mouth. How was Hyde gonna be able to go anywhere without Rachel noticing he showed up?

** _And just how are you gonna go about doing that?_ **

"With the serum, of course!"

** _And where is the serum, currently?_ **

"Why, it's in my--!" Jekyll's face became filled with terror and panic as the realization hit him. "Oh… oh  _ no. _ "

** _Great job, Henry! Congratulations! Everyone give the doctor a round of applause for his detective skills!_ **

  
  


“But no, seriously, what did I miss?” Chase said, trying to make sense of the more chaotic than usual chaos. He didn’t even know that was possible.

Marvin turned away from geeking out, “Oh, hey Chase! Uhh… Well, I  _ kinda _ tried to experiment on James’s pocket watch. The ground fucking  _ shook _ in my room, and uhhh...now these people are here!”

Of course. Only Marvin could bring a bunch of strangers into the house with a pocket watch. “So,” Chase began, “who are all of you anyway? My name is Chase Brody.”

Jekyll unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He heard the tail end of someone introducing themselves; it must've been the one who Rachel slapped. He would have to talk to her about that…

"So! You're Mr. Brody? I'm Dr. Jekyll, this is Dr. Lanyon, Jasper Kaylock, and Rachel Pidgely, the one who slapped you… sorry, by the way! She's very… intense..."

Chase gave a slight chuckle, “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with worse! Trust me.” He held out his fist, “Nice to meet you Dr. Jekyll.”

Marvin in the meantime was still absolutely giddy. Finally, he had people who understood magic like he did! He couldn’t wait to see what he could learn from these people. And, what they could learn from him. He nearly gasped at the thought. He’d never been a teacher before! “So, what do you know about werewolves Jasper? I’ve read up on them a bit, but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet one before! I knew Lupin couldn’t be the only good one I knew about!”

Jekyll looked at the fist in front of him, confusedly wrapping his hand around it and shaking. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Brody!"

Jasper snapped away from looking at Rachel, focusing on the man in front of him.

"Oh! Uh, one moment." Jasper set Christopher on his shoulder, opening his overcoat and rummaging around in it before pulling out a green notebook that looked like it was on the brink of falling apart. All that was holding it together was a piece of string, bits and pieces of paper sticking out of it. 

"Here! Feel free to look through it, I started it right after I got bit." 

Marvin gently took the journal from Jasper’s hands, flipping it open. He was so fucking giddy right now! “Thank you! If you want, I could take you to my work room upstairs and show you around!”

James sighed, he had to make a decision. He looked over at Jackie, quickly signing hello with his hands. Jackie, understanding the plan, nodded.

As this strange doctor shook his fist, Chase only had one thing to say: “Well, you’re clearly not from this time period!” He looked over at the couch as he called out, “Hey Jamie, you got a buddy!”

James turned his head to where Chase stood. Now the spotlight was turned on him. Oh, goodness...

Jasper smiled, rubbing his neck. "Maybe… maybe some other time..." 

Jekyll put his hand back against his side, slowly realizing what might've happened. "This period? Good sir, what year is it?"

“Oh boy,” Chase rubbed the back of his neck, “it’s uhh...2019.” He hoped that it wouldn’t freak them out too much, but even he knew that was too big of a stretch.

Jekyll looked over at Lanyon, a panicked look on his face as Lanyon quickly went into hysterics.

"Heh… haha… hahaha! Funny joke! 2019? Get a load of this man, right Jekyll? You're kidding, right? He's got to be kidding…"

"I uh… I don't think he is…"

"Well, that's just wonderful!"

** _Oh boy! This day just keeps getting better and better, don't it, Henry?_ **

Jasper overheard the conversation, quickly processed it, and then squeaked, plopping down onto the floor.

Rachel poked her head back in. "2019? No way! Do you have flying carriages!?"

The egos looked at each other, sharing a knowing glance. 

Finally, James decided to stand up. He was the only other person in the room familiar with a situation like this and, thus, was the only one who could help them. His other concerns could wait for later!

He took in a deep breath, preparing himself, before walking over to Lanyon and gently tapping him on the shoulder. 

Lanyon turned around, trying to recompose himself, even just a little bit, before speaking. "Oh! Hello! Um, I don't believe we caught your name, sir?"

Rachel quickly looked over at the dapper little man, gasping and rushing over, pinching his cheeks.

"Goodness! Aren't you just a cute one? Such a handsome young man!"

James looked down, his legs shifting from side to side. He glanced at his roomates who all gave him looks of encouragement. Again, he took in another deep breath before lifting up his hands and signing his name. “ _ Hi, I’m Jameson Jackson. _ ” 

He really hoped at least one of them could understand. If not, at least the others were there to translate. For now...No, they didn’t need anymore freak outs.

"Awww! You've got fancy little hand signals too! Adorable!" Rachel let go of James, holding her hands together up next to her face.

Jasper walked over to join the group, standing next to Rachel. "No, I think he's trying to tell us something..."

"Yes, quite, this gentleman clearly has something important to say!" Lanyon piped up, a slightly confused look on his face.

"I believe he's using some form of sign language? I'm not quite sure on how to translate it, so unless someone here can, I believe we're stuck…" Jekyll said, closely watching Jamie's hands.

James curled in on himself for a moment, glancing at Jackie who had already made the move to step in. He had to remember to thank him later, even though he knew he wouldn’t have to.

“Don’t worry, we can all translate. He said, ‘Hi, my name is Jameson Jackson.’” 

Marvin stepped in and wrapped a comforting arm around James’ shoulders, “Jamie’s a mute, so he can’t speak.”

** _Another broken one? Don't you just wanna take him in, Jekyll? Have him wrapped around your little finger, convincing him that everything is okay, when it really isn't?_ **

"I don't believe I've heard of that illness before? How interesting!" Jekyll attempted to tune Hyde out, barely successful.

"Huh, what else do you have to say?" Lanyon bent over, making eye contact, along with a welcoming smile. 

Rachel smiled even wider, squealing. "So cute!!! I could just eat you up!" 

The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. It was going better than he had expected. He signed, “ _ As odd as this sounds, I understand what you're going through. _ ”

Jasper smiled, relieved. "Thank God! I'm not alone!"

"I must ask, how did you get here?" Jekyll stood next to Lanyon, leaning forwards slightly, as if trying to get a closer inspection.

James reached into his vest pocket where the watch was located. He gave it two quick taps, a signal to Estelle that it was ok, but not to come out yet. Gently, he pulled out the golden watch, holding it in the palm of his hand.

"A pocket watch? That doesn't make much sense… how could it have all that power?" Jekyll leaned in even closer, looking over the watch.

Lanyon gently smacked him in the side. "Don't be rude, Henry! He needs his personal space!"

"Oh! Yes, my apologies..." He leaned back, getting out of Jameson's bubble.

James had tensed ever so slightly but was thankful for Lanyon’s input. He set the watch down on the nearby coffee table. He bit his lip, unsure how to explain this. He wasn’t sure how Estelle would react or how these people might react to her. He readjusted his feet before signing, “ _ I’m not from this time period either. I’m actually from 1900. _ ” It wasn’t an explanation yet, but perhaps it would do.

"The 1900s? So we aren't far apart in terms of years! What was it like? In the 1900s?" Lanyon attempted small talk in order to lower the immense tension in the room.

Jekyll walked over to the coffee table, pointing at the watch. "May I have a look at it?"

James hesitantly nodded. Oh golly, how was he gonna describe the 1900’s? Should he leave out the war? It was honestly something he would like to leave out. He got a minor shudder just thinking about it. 

He could probably stick to the happy things. He smiled as he thought about what he would say. “ _ Well, there were movies, and lovely things called cartoons. There was a lot of dancing, but the films were always my favorite! _ ” His expressions and movements brightened, becoming more energetic.

The other egos smiled, there was that James spirit!

Lanyon's interest piqued, tilting his head slightly. "Movies? Sounds interesting!"

Rachel leaned over top of Lanyon, enthralled by the bouncy little man in front of her. "Tell us more!"

Jasper stood next to Lanyon, moving to hold Christopher. "Anything else fun?"

Jekyll hesitantly reached for the watch, gently picking it up and looking over the golden lid. 

** _What if you threw it on the ground? Right here, right now, smashed it into a _ ** **billion** ** _ tiny pieces!_ **

He ran his fingers over the engraving, admiring the intricacies. But how did this create time travel? 

James’s arms moved in exaggerated gestures, much like how Marvin's did. “ _ You see, movies are a series of pictures! They go by, one after the other, so fast that it looks like they’re moving! _ ” He reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a flip book of his own. “ _ Here, flip through this, you can see one I made! _ ”

Jackie kept a close eye on Jekyll. He had to make sure he didn’t open the watch as that could potentially disturb Estelle. Granted, a ghost couldn’t be physically hurt, but she could get scared!

Lanyon took the flip book from James, holding it out for the trio to see, flipping through. The image of a small rubber ball bouncing on the ground began to play, fascination filling him as he repeatedly thumbed through. "Amazing! And you say these are just a bunch of pictures?"

Rachel rushed over to James, pinching his cheeks once more. "Such a talented dapper boy! How wonderful!"

Jasper held Christopher tighter, hoping that no small flames came off of him and landed onto the book as he leaned in closely to watch it again.

Jekyll flipped over the watch, looking at the word engraved on the back. The only word that was actually readable was 'Love.' Love? This must've been a gift… was it a gift to James?

** _Come on! It would be so fun to just completely _ ** **destroy** ** _ it! _ **

James fidgeted at Rachel's gesture, but he was so glad to have them like him. “ _ Yeah, if you flip through it slower you can see how it works. They don’t have to be drawn pictures either. Animation and film can be almost anything! _ ”

He glanced over at Jekyll. How would he tell them how the watch worked? All he could do was glance from the watch to their guests. The watch, then the guests.

Marvin noticed his distress and decided to step in. “I’m curious, do you guys know anything about ghosts?”

"As a matter of fact, yes. We have a doctor studying them back at the society." Those words probably came out a little colder than Jekyll would have liked, but he didn't notice, he was too focused on getting to the bottom of this mystery!

"What I  _ think _ Henry is trying to say is that yes, we are familiar with specters and ghosts!" Lanyon attempted to take the edge off of Henry's sentence, hoping it worked.

He returned the flip book, standing up and walking over to Jekyll, patting him on the shoulder. "Isn't that right, Jekyll?"

"Yes. Quite." Nope, still in clock town…

Jasper pulled Rachel away from James, a nervous smile on his face. "Sorry! I swear, she's nicer than this!" 

Marvin pressed on, “That’s good, and what do you think of them?”

James gave a worried glance towards Jekyll, but brushed it off in favor of replying. “_It’s ok,_” He fiddled with the sleeve on his shirt, “_I’m glad you liked my animation!_ _Is there anything else you want to know about?_”

Chase debated on whether or not to have Jack come over here. He could help with the situation, plus it would be funny to see the look on his face.

Jekyll snapped out of his trance like state for a moment, remembering his manners. "May I open the watch for further inspection?"

Lanyon shot Jekyll a look of  _ you're pushing it! Stop! _ But the look was never received "Well, personally, I think ghosts are fascinating! So does Henry." Dear God, he was having to speak for him! It was their first ball all over again…

"Can you tell us about the technology?" Jasper let go of Rachel, Christopher heading off to investigate the new house, and maybe find a hiding spot.

"Ooo! Or the food!" Rachel could only  _ dream _ of what new delicacies they came up with in the future!

James wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Should he let him open the watch? They seemed to like ghosts, but opening the watch wasn’t a guarantee she’d come out. Maybe he should give her the signal first. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

“ _ Well, there was this thing called a refrigerator, and it didn’t need a block of ice to keep food cold! And there was this thing called a car. It was kind of like a carriage but it was powered by oil and gas rather than horses.”  _

He was practically jumping up and down at this point, he loved his home, and while talking about it made him miss it, he could always go and visit again later.  _ “They made planes! Machines that could fly people around!” _

Jackie stepped over to Chase’s side, watching as he pulled out his phone to start texting Jack. They gave each other a look and grinned.

Jekyll took the lack of response as a no, quickly setting the watch down, and attempting to reintegrate himself to reality. He quickly saw Chase holding a small, metal, black box in his hand. He briskly walked over to Chase, looking at the now glowing box in his hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Brody, what are you holding?"

Lanyon followed Jekyll, sighing as he realized he would have to be the metaphorical babysitter of the group once more. Damn it.

"That's so convenient! Do you guys have this… refrigerator, you said it was?"

"Forget about keeping food cold, Rachel! In the future, you can fly without a hot air balloon! What does the 'plane' look like?" Jasper became giddy, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Chase looked up from his phone, unsure how to answer at first. It was like James all over again. Only this time, he wasn’t sure the telephone had been invented yet. Or at least for them? God, time travel was confusing.

“ _ They look like birds. Big metal birds! But they don’t flap their wings!" _ James held his arms out to his sides to demonstrate. Additionally, seizing the opportunity, while also continuing his demonstration, he “flew” closer to the watch but did not yet pick it up.

Jackie glanced at Chase’s phone, watching Jack’s reply come up. All it said was a simple, “Sure.” 

  
  


Jekyll stared intently at the strange brick, watching as the surface moved. "How odd..." 

Lanyon placed his hand on Jekyll's back, his nerves getting to him. "Personal space, Henry!"

Jasper's eyes sparkled, leaning forwards. "What else did these planes do!?"

Rachel sighed. Yes, this plane thing was interesting, but she's seen enough science to sponsor several years of university learning! For once she wanted to hear about something else...

James turned to Rachel, tilting his head in confusion. Was it something he said?

Chase sighed, holding up his phone. “Don’t worry, this is just my phone. They’re a little more advanced than when you and James had them though.”

Marvin scoffed, “A  _ little _ ?”

“Ok, a lot!”

"I see…" Jekyll  _ really  _ wished he had his notebook right now! There were so many fantastic, new things that he had to--!

** _Are you kidding? _ ** **Documenting!?** ** _ We end up in the year 2019, full of new, cool things, and you want to _ ** **DOCUMENT!?**

Lanyon smiled faintly as he watched the gears turn in Jekyll's head, the light catching his eyes in just a way that they looked like roses covered with morning dew. He was lucky to have this man as his… friend. Only friends…

Jasper gently nudged Rachel, catching her attention and pointing at James.

"Oh! Sorry, it's just that I'm not  _ super _ interested in technology is all…"

James pursed his lips. She wasn’t interested in technology, then perhaps she would be…

He glanced at the pocket watch.

Marvin  _ had _ managed to let him know that they were ok with ghosts. Besides, he could trust these people!

His eyes darted in Jekyll’s direction. For the most part that was. He still wasn’t sure…

Chase began to demonstrate the abilities of his phone, showing Jekyll about typing, swiping, and even opening an old game.

James finally picked up the watch, giving it three small strokes with his thumb.

Slowly, a blue, translucent form with a golden glow to it, began to disperse from the watch and into the air.

Jekyll became infatuated with this… phone device! A "touch screen," as Mr. Brody called it was ingenious! The abilities and the detail and craftsmanship were all incredible!

Jasper stared in awe at the creature that was emerging from the pocket watch, excitement filling him. How was it housed in such a small area? Could it actually live comfortably in there? Was this a newer discovery?

Rachel's face was quickly enwrapped in a smile that stretched from ear to ear, seeing a small… insect looking thing came out of the watch! How could this man just keep getting cuter? First, he's dressed up all fancy, and now he has a little buddy!? Amazing!

Estelle darted back at the sight of all of these strange people, hiding behind James’s legs for a moment. “Jamie,” she whispered, “who are they?”

Jackie turned away from the excitement that Jekyll was experiencing over the phone, hearing Estelle’s voice. “Oh, hey there Estelle. How are you?” He could see just how nervous she looked as he stepped over and crouched down to her level.

Marvin on the other hand continued to look back and forth between Jekyll and Lanyon. He could see the way they had been looking at each other. ‘ _ Yep, _ ’ he thought, ‘ _ They’re gay. _ ’ He gave a brief sigh, the two of them reminding him of his first crush. 

Jekyll's head popped up once he heard a new voice, quickly turning around and staring at the scene behind him. His eyes locked on to the small spirit hiding behind Mr. Jackson's legs, his interest being pulled from the phone.

Lanyon was pulled out of his day dreaming by Jekyll whipping around, spooking him slightly.

Jasper's face went blank for a moment, his brain trying to catch up to his vision. The moment it did, he grasped Rachel's shoulders, turning them around and aggressively whispering to her.  _ "Rachel!  _ He has a new  _ creature!" _

Rachel's mind had essentially blue screened at the moment, the cuteness getting the best of her. All she could do was let out a long, high pitched squeak.

Estelle let out a squeak of her own, curling her little wisp of a tail into her body. “Jackie, James, why are they staring at me?”

James knelt down along with Jackie, turning to face her.

“I think it means they like you.” Jackie said.

“Really?” She brightened at that, a small smile forming on her face.

Chase, his phone no longer getting attention, chuckled. “You bet they do.”

Jackie nodded in agreement before adding a tad quieter, “Don’t worry, they aren’t gonna hurt you. Not while we’re here.”

The smile grew as she finally floated out from behind James, giving a tiny wave. “Hello.”

Lanyon placed his hands over his heart, his smile somehow becoming warmer than it was before. He's always had a soft spot for children, even the supernatural kind.

Jekyll attempted to approach quickly, while not scaring the ghost like entity in front of him. "Hello there, little one! What's your name?" He gently held out his hand, a welcoming smile filling his face.

Jasper realized how rude he must've been being, remembering his manners. He turned Rachel and himself around again, crouching down and smiling, letting Jekyll do the talking. He was always better at that than he was.

She giggled, her little hands swinging at her sides. “I’m Estelle. Who are all of you? What are you doing in our house?” Her eyes lit up a little more as she got a better look at everyone. They reminded her of James, with their fancy clothes and the smell of old antiques.

His heart swelled inside him. Children were always a good way to cheer oneself up! "Well, the tall man standing next to Mr. Brody is Dr. Robert Lanyon! The ones standing over there," he pointed to his right, finally noticing the slight chaos that was erupting, "Is, uh… Rachel, are you alright over there?"

Rachel simply said "cute," and continued squeaking.

"U-huh… anyways, those two are Miss Rachel and Mr. Jasper Kaylock! And I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll, it's a pleasure to meet you, Estelle!"

“I like you!” Estelle floated closer, wanting to shake his hand, only to realize she couldn’t. “Oh, yeah… uhhhhh…”

Jekyll tilted his head ever so slightly, a hint of confusion in his features. "What's the matter? I don't bite, silly!"

** _But _ ** **I ** ** _do!_ **

She laughed, “It’s not that, it’s just that...I’d go right through you.” She put her hands behind her back, twisting her body from side to side. “So, what are you doing in the house? Did Marvin do it?”

Marvin stuck his tongue out in a rather childish manner, a movement that she quickly repeated.

James smiled, the relief that Estelle would be alright flowing through him. He may not have been her actual dad, but he certainly cared about her like one, as did everyone else.

"Oh! Well, uh, I'm not so sure on that one..." He looked over at Jasper, seeing the excitement in his eyes. A familiar sparkle that made him smile. Ah yes, how it was to be a young scientist…

** _And then you had me! And now you're stuck!_ **

"Estelle, I believe my friend Jasper would like to talk to you! Is that alright?"

Jasper jumped a little, looking at Jekyll. " Oh! W-well it's, uh, it's okay! If you don't- don't  _ want _ to that is, no pressure!"

She nodded, smiling. “What is it Jasper!” She floated closer to him.

Chase looked down at his phone, noticing Jack’s reply. It probably wouldn’t be too long before he showed up. And oh boy when he did…

Jasper cleared his throat, watching Jekyll stand up and walk back over to Lanyon, his heart racing a tiny bit faster at the thought of being alone in this encounter. "Um, you see, I happen to be a cryptozoologist!" Damn it, Jasper! She won't understand what that means! She's only 8!

"That means I study fancy creatures!" As if on cue, Christopher ran back over to Jasper, skidding to a halt. He seemed as though he smiled once he was picked up. "Like this one! This is Christopher the mud phoenix! Since I study these guys, I would like to know what  _ you _ are! You seem to act like a ghost, but your cute little antennae say otherwise!" 

Did that sound rude? Was he being mean? Oh goodness, he hoped not!.

“Oh!” She flicked at said antennae on her head. “This is my headband! I like bugs. Even the creepy ones, I think.” She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the mud phoenix in his arms, floating closer to Christopher to get a better look. “Christopher is a nice name. I like it!”

"Oh! I see! Thank you for clearing that up for me!"

Christopher gently trilled in curiosity, tilting his head to get a better look at the girl in front of him.

Jekyll sighed, leaning his head against his hand. "You know, Lanyon, I don't think this is going to go so bad as we thought it would."

"Well, don't say that just yet! This is simply a surface greeting, lord only knows what may lie beneath.”

"Come now, not everything has to have a bad side to it!"

** _That isn't what you said two years ago, huh, Jekyll?_ **

  
  


She giggled, reaching out to pet it, only to have her hand phase through him. She sighed in disappointment. While she enjoyed being a ghost, she had to admit there were many things she missed.

There was a knock on the door. Chase’s and Jackie’s attentions were drawn to it as they glanced at each other, knowing full well who was there. 

Chase jogged to the door, opening it up. “Hey, Jack!”

“Hey, Chase!” Jack replied stepping inside, “What was it you needed help…” He trailed off as he looked at the rather crowded living room. “...With...What the fuck?!” Today was going to be an interesting day.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this was so fun to write! I love the back and forth we have! I cannot wait for all of you to see what we have in store. Hope you enjoyed the story! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

Marvin’s head snapped to attention upon hearing Jack’s voice. “Uhh…” He awkwardly began, “I can explain.”

Jack sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. “Of course it was you, Marvin.”

“Come on, Jack, what gives! It’s not like I do stuff like this every week.”

The others all gave him _the_ _look_.

“Ok, _ yeah_. _ Maybe _ all the food in the fridge ended up on the roof. But that was hardly my fault! I was testing a new teleportation spell when _ someone _ just _ had _ to show me a meme he found on his phone!”

Chase lifted his hands in the air. “Hey dude, don’t drag _ me _ into this!”

"What is a… meme?" Lanyon tilted his head, confused.

"We can figure out what a meme is later! First things first, new person, more introductions! Who wants to go first?"

Rachel sighed. "Really, again!? Ugh… I'm Rachel, that's Jasper, that's Dr. Lanyon, and that's Master Jekyll! There!"

"Ah, yes, thank you, Miss Pidgely… anyways, who are you?" Jekyll looked at the bearded man in the doorway.

Jasper noticed the slight annoyance and confusion on the man's face, attempting to defuse the situation a tiny bit. "Uh, Dr. Jekyll? I think we're going a bit too _ fast _ here..."

Jack fully stepped into the living room, moving his hand away from his face. “Sorry about that, stuff like this happens often but never quite to this scale.” He held out his hand. “I’m Seán William McLoughlin, but you can call me Jack. Most people do.”

James almost jumped at the realization. He was usually so polite! He had completely forgotten to shake their hands. In his defense, he _ had _ been using sign language, so shaking their hands would have been difficult. Regardless, he too walked up—albeit a tad more awkwardly—and made the motion to shake their hands.

Jekyll shook Seán's hand, then turned to shake Jameson's. When he took his hand—his left one, how rare...—he noticed a large burn mark on the back, taking a mental note of it for later. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mcloughlin! I notice that your name sounds a tad bit Irish! How interesting!" He leaned in, turning on his charm. "Now this is just between you and me, but I happen to come from Glascow!" He leaned back and smiled, hoping that they had a guest room that he could retreat too when this whole thing was over. Despite being a businessman, he couldn't handle all the people.

"Alright, introductions are _ finally _ over! What is our next course of action?" Lanyon attempted to get the group back on track, reminding them of the elephant in the room.

Sean smiled. “Oh, that’s cool!”

In the background Marvin raised his hand. “I’m from Ireland too, you know!” Chase grabbed it and slowly pulled it down.

James quickly put his own hand behind his back and tried to maneuver his sleeve over it, subconscious of the scar. He’d forgotten to use his other hand instead.

“But yeah, you’re right. We do have bigger matters to attend to. I’m going to take a wild guess that you’re not from here.” Jack said, also trying to get everyone back on course.

"Yes, that's correct! We happen to come from the year 1886, not 2019, as we have been informed…" Lanyon sighed, rubbing his face.

Jekyll felt a familiar twinge of pain run up his spine, brushing it off as the average ache of being an older gentleman. "I believe we should establish some sort of way to get us back home, maybe begin some sort of research into what got us here in the first place? I believe I can be of assistance, as I specialize in alchemy!"

Jasper held up his hand sheepishly. "I can attempt to help as well, seeing as I also have a hand in the scientific field. Maybe not the same experience Dr. Jekyll has, but I can still try!"

Jekyll smiled, happy to tap back into his younger years. He could remake the serum as well!

** _YEEESSSSSSS!_ **

Lanyon clapped his hands together, his chubby cheeked smile returning. "Then it's settled! Miss Rachel and I shall do anything we can to help! We are at your service!"

“That’s great!” Jack replied.

Marvin stepped in front of him, “Uhh, one problem with that. I have no idea how to get you guys home, let _ alone _ how you got here.”

Jackie crossed his arms. “You didn’t bother figuring out how to fix this!?”

“Well, I’m sorry that I don’t know absolutely everything!”

Estelle floated closer to the two of them, trying to break up the confrontation. “You did use your magic plant water. That’s a start.”

"Magic… plant water?" Jekyll tilted his head, wracking his brain to try and figure out whatever she meant by 'plant water.'

Jasper nodded, trying to remember what had happened on their end. "Well, we simply heard a loud tearing noise, then the whole building shook! Once I got to the source of the noise, there was just a light green portal in the dining hall!"

Rachel began to pace, trying to kick into science mode. "Maybe you could try and recreate whatever you made?"

Lanyon's smile got wider. "Excellent idea, Rachel!"

Jekyll folded an arm behind his back, holding up the other in a point. "Well, the only problem is that alchemy isn't much of a memory based thing. You have to be able to write down exactly how much you added of one thing, color changes, reactions, etcetera, otherwise the whole operation is off the rails!"

Marvin’s face fell. “Oh no.”

The other egos slowly turned in his direction. “What do you mean, ‘_oh no_,’?” Chase asked.

“I umm…” He winced. “_ Maybe _ forgot to write it down.”

Jekyll snapped his focus towards Marvin, glaring. "You _ what!? _ Do you have even the slightest inkling of what alchemy is all about!?" He practically spat out the last word. "Dear God, man! You have to write down what you learn, you have to be able to recreate it _ exactly, _ otherwise all your work is… is… poppycock! It's useless!"

Jasper was taken aback. He had never seen Jekyll so angry before! The ferocity of his voice made even _ him _ feel threatened, and he wasn't the target!

Lanyon sighed, rolling his eyes. This wasn't the first time he saw Jekyll blow up at someone, and it certainly wouldn't be the last…

“Hey! In my defense, I usually write things down every time I experiment! It’s just that this time I,” he winced again, “did-it-on-impulse.”

Jekyll giggled slightly, his eyes turning slightly brown, very different from his bright Ruby reds… "Impulse!? Sir, impulse is no excuse to not follow proper protocol!" He waved his hands wildly for emphasis, his hair growing a tinge lighter. "Even when I was hot on the trail of a groundbreaking discovery, only my work on my mind, I still stopped to write it all down! You have just sent so much potential down the damn drain! We could be set back weeks, months even! How dare you—"

There was the sound of a key turning and unlocking the front door. “Hello everyone I’m ho—” Henrik stopped short, nearly jumping, halfway through the doorway. “Was sum Teufel?!” He continued to mutter similar phrases in his native tongue as his eyes darted from one person to the next.

Unsure what to do the other residents of the house pointed at Marvin. “He did it!”

Henrik’s head slowly turned in the magician’s direction, who was currently glaring at the others for ratting him out. 

One could have seen steam pour out of his ears as he let out a slow, very pissed off, “_ Marvin _…”

“Welp!” Jackie’s hand clamped down on Marvin’s shoulder. “It was nice knowing you.”

“Marfin, vhat zee efer lofing _ FUCK _is goink on here?!”

Jekyll snapped out of his rant, realizing how disrespectful and ungentlemanly he was being, recomposing himself and taking a deep breath. "Apologies..." He mumbled to himself.

**Damn it!** ** _ If you just kept on yelling, we could've—wait… is that a _ ** **German ** ** _accent I hear? Oooooooh, perfect! Let's try again!_ **

When Jekyll looked over at the man who just entered the room, registering the voice, all he could see was one Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. He heard her taunting voice in his head. _ "Industrialist slut!" "You are a failure to zhe scientific community!" "How dare you do zhis to your fellow scientists!" _

Lanyon clapped a hand on Jekyll's shoulder, noticing him losing himself to anxiety. "Don't worry, soon we can perhaps go on a walk, maybe grab a spot of lunch?" He whispered. He smiled as Jekyll nodded, relaxing under his hand.

Rachel groaned. "We are NOT doing introductions AGAIN! You can find out our names in conversation!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

Marvin on the other hand, was occupied with rather poorly explaining how four strangers ended up in their house. “I’ll figure out a way to get them all back home, trust me!”

Henrik breathed in through his nose, giving a forced smile that, like all forced smiles, looked nothing like a smile. “Marvin,” He continued through slightly clenched teeth, “you are lucky zat I have zee next few days off ozervise, _ I VOULD KILL YOU_!”

Marvin flinched. The doctor was practically in the magician’s face, glaring him down.

The others all gave him a sort of concerned look.

He took in a deep breath, recompsing himself as he saw their faces. “Sorry, I am just a little heated is all.” He gave them all a look of his own, and it helped to ease the tension in the room.

He turned back to Marvin. “Didn’t you sink about how dangerous zis could have been? Vhat sort of people you could have brought into our home? You cannot mess vis space time.”

Marvin looked at the ground, fiddling with the clasps on his cape. “I know...I just get excited and...you know…” he shrugged his shoulders, “I stop thinking and just… act.”

Henrik sighed, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Do not vorry my friend, vee vill sink of somesing.” He chuckled. “For all of your stupidity, you are very bright.”

Jekyll's anger dissolved, realizing that this magician was just like him when he was younger. Bright eyed, full of excitement, simply throwing things together just to see what happened… he sighed, tenting his fingers and pointing them downwards. "I, uhm, I believe I should apologize! Today has just been very stressful and busy, I shouldn't've taken it out on you…" he rubbed his face before a sudden look of terror came over him. He quickly reached into his overcoat and pulling out a small leather bound book, flipping through it at an alarming rate. "Oh, goodness! Robert, the Society is done for! I have several meetings with sponsors this week, and if I don't show up or at the very least give some semblance of an excuse, they'll never send us the funds!"

"Henry, please! We can schedule more meetings, we have to deal with this first!"

"No, this isn't something I can just redo! I can't contact the lodgers, or anyone back home for that matter! They're gonna think I'm missing! If we file another police report the reputation of the Society is at risk! The police already hate us! I have to get back now, otherwise—!"

“Alright, alright,” Henrik stepped forward, holding his hands out. “Everyone please calm down.” He turned to Jekyll, “I understand vhat you are going srough, as I tend to have a _ very _ busy schedule myself. You say zat you have a society to go back to? Zen vee vill all help to get you back home.”

Jack nodded in agreement. While he knew he couldn’t stay here as long as the others could for obvious reasons, he would do his best to help where he could.

"Yes, I have many people living there! If the society runs out of funding, then the building will go down, and if the building goes down then there's no place to do science safely and responsibly, and many will be homeless, and then if they go homeless then it's my fault and before you know it, my name is in every paperboy's mouth!"

"Henry Jekyll! You stop this nonsense right now! We are _ not _ going to lose the society! Not on my watch! Even if you did, the lodgers would understand!" He gestured over to Jasper and Rachel, a stern look on his face. "You have helped those two so much that they would _ never _ slander you like that, no matter what!"

** _Are you _ ** **sure ** ** _about that, bird nose?_ **

"Yes! Dr. Lanyon's right, Dr. Jekyll! Besides, who would listen to a werewolf who went on a rampage?" Jasper walked over to Henry, gently handing him Christopher in an attempt to calm him.

"Master Jekyll, I know that even Master Hyde wouldn't slander you! You gave him a job and a place to stay, just like every other lodger! Hell, if we lose funding, then I'll start a riot! We'll march through the streets of London if we have to!" Rachel put her hands on her hips, holding her feet apart in an almost superhero like pose.

James instantly straightened up. _ Master Hyde_? No, there had to be a reasonable explanation. Hyde and Jekyll were probably just very common last names. And two of them happened to be in the same residence. Yep! 

He was trying very hard not to break his smile; although, every so often he could feel the corners of his mouth twitch.

Jackie raised a finger in the air as he made his point. “Well, I think a good place to start is always the scene of the crime.”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Of course, that's what _ you'__d _ say, Mr. Justice. Plus, my work room is _not _ a crime scene!”

“It might as well be with how messy it is.”

“_Well,_ then by those standards I guess your _ bedroom _ isn’t so far off.”

Henrik cleared his throat. “I sink vee should get back to zee problem at hand. Jackie has a point, if you conducted your experiment in your vork room, zen zat is zee best place for you to start.”

Marvin grumbled, “Yeah, I guess you’re right… but it’s still not a crime scene.”

"Well then, what are we waiting for? To the room!" Rachel pointed forwards, running down a random hallway. She quickly poked her head out from around the corner. "Uh, where _ is _your room?"

Jekyll laughed, petting Christopher as he walked over to the gaggle of men who oddly had the same face… _ Hyde, make a mental note of that, please! _

** _No._ **

Lanyon's soul lightened a bit when he saw Jekyll's smile, his ruby eyes returning as he relaxed. He would have to schedule some stress management classes for him soon…

Estelle quickly floated in front of Rachel, attempting to grab her arm and lead her down the other hallway. “Come on! I can show you! It’s upstairs! I’ll race you!”

Jackie, Marvin, and Chase collectively gave both her and each other a look.

“A race you say?” Chase asked.

Her ethereal tail wagged. “You bet!”

Jackie adjusted his footing. “Oh it is on, baby!”

“In your dreams!” Marvin exclaimed, emphasising his words with a flash of green aura.

** _I wanna race too! Come on, let me out! Just a quick quick race! _ **

_ No, Hyde. _

** _Come ooooooon! You know you want to!_ **

_ Now is not the time. _

Rachel smiled, following her to the stairs. "Oh, you're gonna get it now! I run up and down stairs all day! Piece of cake!" Rachel stretched her legs, getting into position. "Who wants to start the countdown!" 

Lanyon and Henrik both sighed, holding their faces in their hands.

Estelle started the race, so naturally, she started the countdown. “On your marks…”

The chaotic trio that was Marvin, Chase and Jackie, all looked at each other.

Rachel smiled, she hadn't done this in a while! "Get set..." 

“GO!” 

As Chase and Jackie took off up the stairs, leaving Henrik to only hope they did not break anything, be it objects or themselves, Estelle flew straight up, going through the ceiling to the floor above. Marvin vanished in a cloud of green smoke.

Jack, while also worried for their safety couldn’t help but laugh. “Those little cheaters!”

Henrik’s muffled voice sounded through his hands. “Kinder, I live vis stupid, adult kinder.”

Lanyon groaned, letting his hands fall to your sides. "At least _ yours _ eat and get sleep, unlike _ someone _I know."

Jekyll gently slapped Lanyon's arm, giving him a playful scowl. "Says the man who drinks straight from the wine bottle!"

Jasper smiled as Rachel ran up the stairs, his cheeks becoming dusted with a light pink…

Henrik chuckled. “Perhaps. Alzough, zey tend to forget zat too. Come on.” He waved his arm as he started to head down the hallway. “Let’s make sure zey do not cause too much trouble.”

Rachel ran up the stairs, quickly closing the space between her and Chase, ending up neck and neck with Jackie. "Wow, you're good! Maybe one day you can be as fast as me!" She ran ahead by one step, making it to the top of the stairs. 

“I don’t know, Rachel! I practically run for a living! I think you’re just lucky!” Jackie said, hot on her heels.

"Tell me that when you're having to rush to get food to more than 60 people who are always in their rooms!" She held out her hand. "Good race, though!"

As the group of people began to walk up the stairs, Jekyll suddenly felt a pain that he didn't notice vanish from his body. Strange… it felt familiar… _ too _ familiar. _ Hyde, what are you doing up there? _

** _Whatever do you mean, Henry? I'm simply sitting here, being quiet, wishing I could have raced and had fun instead of being _ ** **STUCK ** ** _here!_ **

_ I'm not buying that for one second! You felt that pain too, didn't you? That ache that fills our whole body during the transformations. _

** _Maybe I did, maybe I didn't…_ **

_ Don't be coy with me, Edward! _

"Jekyll, are you ok?"

_ You made me see Frankenstein instead of… of… whoever this is! Why can't you just leave me alone for once! _

"Jekyll..?" Lanyon began to reach out a hand, seeing Jekyll's face flash through several emotions at once.

** _Leave _ ** **you** ** _ alone!? Sure, why not! And while I'm at it, let me just get the Queen of England on the line! I'm sure she'd just _ ** **love ** ** _to fund your little _ ** **passion project!**

"Henry!" Lanyon put a hand on Jekyll's shoulder, snapping him out of his trance-like state.

Henrik turned back, having also caught this ordeal, his brows furrowing in concern. “Are you alright? Is zere anysing I can do to help?” 

In the meantime, Jackie stood next to Rachel, hands on his hips. “I agree, it was a close call.”

Suddenly, Chase went barrelling past them. “Sike! This race ain’t over ‘til we get to the room! So, long suckers!!”

"So it's gonna be like that, huh? Well ya ain't gonna win that easily!" Rachel took off again, not even breaking a sweat.

"Something wrong? Why would you think there's something wrong? I'm fine…" Jekyll set Christopher down, watching him run back over to Jasper and leaping into his arms.

"You just… looked like you were hurting, is all." Lanyon turned on his own charm, activating the puppy eyes. "You would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?"

Jekyll had a small moment of panic run through him, but small enough for Lanyon to not notice. "Yes, I would. I promise."

For a moment, Henrik and Jack shared a glance. “If you say so…” The doctor replied, continuing up the stairs.

James watched as they all rounded the corner before carefully turning a doorknob and slipping inside his room. He paused for a moment as he looked at the book sitting on his chair. He picked it up and exited the room, following the rest of them up to Marvin’s work room.

Chase triumphantly opened the door to Marvin’s space. “And that is how you win a—_Hey _!”

“Oh, hey guys.” Marvin had his feet propped up on his desk as he leaned in his chair. He gave the sort of smirk that a person would want to punch. “What took you so long?”

Estelle giggled as she saw the look on Chase’s face.

Jackie leaned on the doorframe, his mouth open like a fish. “You cheated!”

“Not really. You were the ones who failed to specify the rules.” Again, Marvin’s face _ really _ looked like the kind you could punch.

"Are you kidding? That's not fair!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "We shouldn't have to specify basic rules!"

Jekyll attempted to shake off the stares he felt on his back, realizing how suspicious he looked.

** _Good job, Jekyll! Next, you can tell the whole of England that you played in God's playground!_ **

Lanyon retracted his hand, rubbing his arm. What happened to Henry? Was it simply more stress? Was there something on his mind? He would tell him if it was serious… wouldn't he?

Henrik maneuvered around Jackie and Chase as he made his way into Marvin’s work room. “Now zat you _ kinder _ are all done playing, I hope vee can vork to absolving zis issue.”

“Yeah, where do we start?” Jack asked, walking up to Marvin’s bookshelf and looking at the array of magical artifacts.

Estelle flew over to Marvin’s tiny brewing station. “Well...he did use some magic plant water before everything started to shake.”

"Well then what are we waiting for?” Chase marched over to Estelle’s side, picking up a random vial.

“_DON’T!"_ Marvin abruptly stood up from his chair, nearly knocking it over in the process, as both he and Henrik shouted in unison.

Jekyll heard the commotion, quickly grabbing Jasper's arm and weaving through the crowd and getting to the front of the group. "Okay! Everyone who cannot help at the moment, please leave! Those of you who are witnesses to the cause of the rift, or can help, please stay!"

Lanyon nodded, quickly exiting the room he just entered, having Rachel follow suit.

Jasper felt his face flush from all the eyes on him, quickly stopping Rachel and handing her Christopher. "We don’t want him setting any fires now, do we?" He awkwardly smiled

"Uh… yes! No fires here!" She returned the smile with one of her own, her cheeks becoming a bright red. She quickly turned around, catching up with Lanyon.

“Man..” Jackie said, turning around and heading towards the stairs, “I came up here for nothing.”

Chase, after setting the vial down, also made his way out of the room, with Jack and Henrik following close behind.

“Ok, Mr. Jekyll sir, what do you wanna know?” Estelle asked, clasping her hands in front of her body.

James quickly snuck inside the room going up to Marvin’s side. He bounced on his toes, anxiously trying to get his attention as he held the book in his arms.

Marvin turned in his direction. “There you are Jamie! Do you have the pocket watch?”

He bit his lip, repeatedly glancing down at the book. Anything to get Marvin’s attention.

Finally, Marvin looked down at the book. “What does that have to do with anything?”

James was not a violent person by any means, but in that moment he had the urge to smack the magician upside the head with the book.

So he did.

Jekyll heard another large smack as he attempted to think of where to start, groaning and turning around. "Ah, Mr. Jameson! Glad you could join us!" He noticed the small, black book in his hand, only catching two words. _ `Strange Case.` _hmm… "What do you have there?"

Jasper began to look around the room, gently sniffing the air, trying to catch the tail end of any intense, chemical smells. Maybe, just maybe… Wait! Was that..? He sniffed again, smelling a faint hint of red willow bark along with… rosemary? 

James jumped, quickly hiding the book behind his back. Oh applesauce, what was he supposed to do now?!

Marvin, in the meantime, rubbed the back of his head. “What the hell was that for?!”

Estelle amidst the forming chaos levitated next to Jasper. “What are you doing?” She giggled.

"You don't have to hide it from me! Besides, it might be important to our situation!" He gently held out his hands, giving a warm smile.

Jasper snapped to attention, looking over at Estelle. "Oh! Uh, since I'm a werewolf, I have a very good sense of smell! So, I'm using my nose to try and get a hint on what was in the plant water!" He poked his nose for emphasis, being one of the few in the group that was actually good with kids.

James’s eyes darted in a panic. What was gonna do, what was he gonna do?! 

Wait! A light bulb—metaphorically this time—appeared over his head. He placed the book into his hammer space, holding out his hands in front of him.

Estelle’s golden glow brightened as she smiled. “Ooo~ What else can a werewolf do?!”

"But you just… it was just in your hands? Do you have some sort of power as well?" He peeked behind Jameson, seeing nothing but air. "How on Earth..."

"Well, um, I have very good hearing! And, I can see in the dark! But I _ do _have to eat a lot so my body has enough energy to become a wolf! I can't do it on command, though, I wish I could!" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, before he caught onto another scent.

Chamomile? He followed it, realizing it was simply a red Herring. A teacup sat on a small table next to a large chair, half full with chamomile tea. Damn! 

James tried his best to smile, giving a shrug. His eyes briefly met with Marvin’s who squinted at him, giving an “I’m watching you” gesture. He honestly would have given a nervous chuckle if he could, especially after Dr. Jekyll’s comment.

He really hoped it was still a coincidence.

Estelle was enamoured by Jasper’s abilities. “I can phase through stuff! Watch!” She demonstrated by going through a chair. “I can also make myself really tiny.” She shrunk down to roughly the size of a dollar, floating into the palm of Jasper’s hand.

Jasper's jaw dropped a little bit, but he quickly closed it and let his eyes widen. "That's incredible!"

Jekyll shook off the weird encounter, getting back to the task at hand. "Anyways, I believe we should start with whatever Mr. Hayes was experimenting on!"

“Yeah, like I _ asked _”—Marvin quickly shot James another glare—“do you have the pocket watch?”

James nodded, pulling the watch out of his vest pocket and setting it on the table. He looked at Marvin, signing an apology for whacking him with the book.

“You’re good...just...I wish I knew why ya did that.”

He fiddled with his hands before replying, “_I’ll tell you later_.”

Again, Marvin gave another suspicious glance before turning back to the table. “So, yeah, I was experimenting with James’s watch.”

Estelle beamed. “You really think so?!”

"I know so! I—" Jasper stopped, grabbing the tail end of a scent that he _ knew _wouldn't end up in someone's morning tea. Chopped orchid? He trailed the scent to the pocket watch, also managing to get a hint of… grasshoppers? And was that red capped mushrooms? "I think I have something..!"

Jekyll snapped to attention, quickly pulling out a different, slightly larger notebook. "Mr. Hayes, do you happen to have a pen?"

“Wait! You’ve got something?!” Marvin stood up from his chair again, excitement coursing through him. “Uhh, yeah.” He handed Jekyll a pen.

"Thank you, mister Hayes! What did you pick up, Jasper?" He held his hand over the page, preparing to scribble out the ingredients.

"I believe it's… orchid, grasshopper, red capped mushrooms, dried rosemary, and some sort of dust? I'm not too sure what it is, though. Whatever it is, it has no scent, it simply smells like… chalk!" Jasper thought for a moment, trying to place his finger on it. "Do you remember using any powder, Mr. Hayes?" 

“I umm..I think so...” Marvin scratched the side of his face, as he tried to recall.

James wandered about the room, unsure what to do. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something sparkling under a cabinet. Bending down, he picked up an empty glass jar. He turned it around and read the label: _ Dragon Bone _.

He turned on his heel, walking up to the group and tapping Marvin on the shoulder.

“Hmm? What is it James?”

He tapped on the jar’s label.

Jekyll read the label as well, scribbling it down. "Dragon bone? How on Earth do you afford such rare ingredients!" 

Jasper lifted the watch, opening it gently. Once he did, the smell got stronger, suggesting that this was more invasive than they may have first thought… "Do we have the stuff we need to recreate the potion?" 

Marvin shrugged at both questions. “I dunno, one of the jars is empty for one thing. Check the labels. I’m not _ entirely _ disorganized.” In all honesty, the labels had been James’s idea. He’d have to thank him for them again, otherwise they would be in a _ much _ bigger pickle.

Estelle pointed at a plastic bottle that was only about a sixth of the way full. “Wasn’t this on the table earlier?”

James nodded in agreement.

“Oh yeah! My sparkling water.” He stared off in the distance, looking rather comical. “In hindsight, maybe downing half the bottle the other day was a bad idea.”

Jekyll closed the small book, putting it back in his coat. "Well, then, I suppose we should have a group meeting, perhaps get a final game plan?"

"That sounds like a good idea, maybe we can become more acquainted afterwards, possibly split up for grocery runs?" Jasper piped up, handing James the pocket watch back.

James pocketed the watch, giving Jasper a small smile in return.

“Yeah, I think that sounds like a good plan.” Marvin placed his hands on his hips.

Estelle nodded. Her head turned however at the sound of rustling coming from the corner. She tilted her head, curious.

A meow bounced around the room as Marvin’s cat, Pips, bounded out from behind some boxes.

“There you are you little scoundrel!!” Marvin turned in the feline’s direction and walked over to him.

Jasper gasped, quickly walking over to the cat and crouching down. "Well hello there! Aren't you just a handsome little thing?" He held out his hand for the animal to sniff, smiling as he came over and rubbed against his hand.

"How adorable! Why didn't you—?" Jekyll stepped back as the cat hissed at him. "Well I never! You like Jasper just fine! Why not me?" The cat arched his back, seeming to stare over Jekyll's shoulder as it hissed again.

** _Well fuck you too, cat!_ ** Hyde stuck his tongue out, making a raspberry noise. 

“Yeah, Pips is weird like that. He hissed at me when I first tried to touch him. He’ll warm up to you eventually, just don’t let him bite you!” Marvin snickered, “The last time that happened someone got stuck to the ceiling!”

Jasper cooed as he stood up, holding Pips in his arms like a baby. "Now why on Earth would you ever do that, handsome boy?"

"I-I'm sorry? Did you say _ ceiling?" _ He tilted his head a little, looking over at Pips.

“Oh! Yeah, Pips here is no normal cat! He’s magic, isn’t that right?”

Pips straightened up in Jasper’s arms, puffing out his chest and crossing his paws ever so slightly.

Jasper's smile widened, scritching his puffed chest and setting him down. "He has such a big personality! Reminds me of my animals back home..." He held his face in one of his hands, sighing.

"Yes, well, I suppose we should go host our meeting now, shall we?" Jekyll clapped his hands together, looking at the people in the room.

Marvin turned on his heel—doing a cape flourish as usual—and heading for the door. “Sounds good to me!” He picked Pips back up on his way out, scratching the cat under the chin.

Estelle phased her way downstairs, giving a childish, “Whee!”

James, left alone with the two strangers for a moment eyed them nervously before awkwardly making his way to the door. It was strange to find people who were now “older” than he was.

Jasper followed behind James, leaving Jekyll alone.

Jekyll sighed, rubbing his face. "Can you _please_ be quiet during this meeting?" 

** _Who, me? Why, quiet is my middle name!_ **

"You don't have a middle name, you never chose one!"

** _Well, in that case, my _ ** **new ** ** _middle name is—_ **

"No, it's not quiet. Your name is simply Edward Hyde, leave it." He groaned, stepping out of the room.

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Lanyon smiled as everyone sat around the living room, as they had realized that the dining room was far too small to fit all of them. "Alright, gentlemen!" He heard a quiet cough, remembering about Estelle. "And lady, care to share what you found?"

Jekyll nodded, pulling out that same, leather bound notebook. He handed it to Lanyon, beginning to speak as he cracked it open. "Well, we have come to an understanding of what is in the potion, but we do not have the proper ingredients. We will have to go out and purchase them ourselves."

Jasper smiled, looking over at Rachel. "All of you can help, though! Rachel, the potion did have some rosemary, can you and Dr. Lanyon possibly go out on a grocery run?"

Rachel nodded, excitement sparking in her eyes. "Yes Sir! However, I do believe I should bring along someone who has more experience in the modern era than we do…"

Henrik nodded his head. “I vill go. I am usually zee one who goes grocery shopping anyvay.”

Marvin continued, “Yeah, and I’m also out of sparkling water, basically. So, that’s one thing you can get too. Now, I’m out of dragon bone, so I’m planning on going with Jekyll to one of my shops.”

"Oh! Jolly good! I can pick up some personal supplies as well!"

** _Good. Make that damn serum, Jekyll! I'm waiting for my night on the town that you promised me~_ **

"Me and Christopher will hold down the fort! If you need anything, let us know!" He nodded, excited to finally get some alone time in order to process.

Lanyon clapped his hands, looking around the lumpy circle they had set up. "Excellent! Welp, with all this sorted out, let's get to work!" He dismissed the group, getting up and returning the notebook to Henry. "Stay safe out there, and _ please _ don't draw attention to yourself. This isn't the 1880s anymore."

"For goodness sake, Robert! You can trust me!" He said in a joking tone, smirking.

“Sounds good to me!” Jackie said, putting his hands behind his head and relaxing into the couch.

Marvin couldn’t help but smirk at Lanyon and Jekyll. He sent a glance over to Chase, who also seemed to notice. He reluctantly took off his cape as he headed back to his workroom to get ready to leave.

Henrik got up from his seat, walking towards the door. “I suppose zee sooner vee leave zee better.” He called over his shoulder as he grabbed his wallet. “Is zere anysing zat anyvone needs before vee go?”

James nodded, signing, “_I believe I am out of tea bags again_.”

“Same!” Chase called.

“Chase you can buy your own, remember?”

“These aren’t for my videos, these are the ones I drink.”

Henrik sighed, “Fine...But if I catch you srowing zee ones I bought…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, _dad_.” Chase smiled, snickering.

"I know, I know, but you are just so unpredictable sometimes!" He clapped a hand on Jekyll's shoulder, giving him a tired smile. "Just remember to listen to Mister Hayes, alright? He knows more than any of us."

Henry groaned, a full blown smile filling his features. "Yes, father."

Rachel got up, brushing off her apron and following Henrik to the door. "I believe he said we needed to get some rosemary. May I also get some supplies to cook dinner tonight?" Rachel smiled, excited to show off her cooking prowess. Maybe she could make a turkey? Or possibly some steak! Oooh, chicken marsala would be amazing!

“I sink zat vould be a marvelous idea Rachel!” Henrik replied. Finally, he wouldn’t have to make food again. Granted, the others helped, or cooked at times, but most of the time it seemed to be him. Who made him the dad of this family again?

James clasped his hands together in an excited fashion. Perhaps this could be a chance for him to have some cuisine that was a little closer to home for him. It was always the little things about the 1900s that he missed.

“Robert has a point!” Marvin called from the hallway on his way back down. “Other than it obviously being the 21st Century, the magic here might be different than yours! Maybe we can discuss it on the way there!” He beamed, eager to tell him what he knew.

"See? At least someone listens to me!"

"I listen to you! Just… not very often…"

Lanyon raised an eyebrow, cracking a genuine smirk. "And how, exactly, is this helping your argument?"

Jekyll sighed, admitting defeat. "Alright, you have a point. Perhaps I should listen to you more. Anywho, I believe Mister Hayes and I really should be going!" He put his hand on top of Lanyon's, nodding. "I'll try and not make a scene." He pulled away from Robert's touch, walking towards Marvin.

"Do you fellows have a budget? I know the society doesn't always have enough money to make a decent meal!" She held her hands together in front of her, ideas racing through her head.

Lanyon sighed, following Jekyll to the door and catching up with Henrik and Rachel.

“Vell, I suppose vee vill have to see about zat vhen vee get zere.” Henrik smiled.

Marvin opened the door, stepping outside. “Yup! We’ll see you all later!”

"So, magic! What do _ you _ know about it?" Jekyll got a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, steepling his hands. "There's so much I could learn that would help the society! What's your area of expertise?"

Rachel attempted to keep up with Henrik, almost having to jog. She was used to tall people, but this man was even taller than Jekyll! "So, what's modern life like?" 

Robert folded his hands behind his back, his mind wandering elsewhere.

Marvin rubbed his hands together. Oh boy, here we go. “Oh man, where do I even begin? Well, my area of expertise is through the use of aura! Do you know what that is?”

Henrik noticed Rachel struggle to keep up and slowed down his pace a bit. “Vell...modern life is...vell in a lot of vays it’s different. One vay I certainly know that it is different is zat our knowledge in zee medical field has vastly improved. Quite rapidly, in fact.”

"Yes, I am a little familiar with them! I did some work on something similar. Not with auras, but the human soul. Slightly different!"

** _Wow, you really want to impress this guy, don't you? Even in front of your friends?_ **

"What have you guys learned?" Rachel prepared to take a mental note, realizing that she would most likely need this for first aid at the Society.

“Oh neat!” Marvin exclaimed. “But yeah, I work with aura. Essentially, you use your energy to power all sorts of things. For instance, I can levitate objects. That’s the first thing I learned to do, actually!” He chuckled. “Ahh, I used that to prank so many people when I was younger.”

Henrik put his hand to his chin in thought. “Vell, first of all vee discovered vaccines. Vee use zose to help cure people, essentially you take a syringe zat sort of has a portion of a certain disease in it—usually zee one trying to be cured—and inject it into zee bloodstream. It helps zee body learn to fight off zee disease on its own!” He smiled, his passion for medicine exaggerating his gestures.

"Utterly fascinating! How long did it take to hone your craft?" Jekyll felt hope swell within him, maybe he could control Hyde easier? Hopefully…

** _Woah now, Henry, you know you can't control me! I devour your soul each day! I grow stronger by the minute, and nothing can stop me! Soon enough, I _ ** **will ** ** _be stronger than you. Just you—_ **

_ God, would you shut up!? _

Rachel tilted her head, confused. "How can a disease heal the sick?"

Marvin’s pace picked up, gaining a bounce to his step. “I’d say it took me at least 5 years? It’s hard to say. Heck, I’m still learning and improving all the time!”

“Now, I can see zee confusion zat may cause.” He held out his hands as he tried to explain. “You see, by injecting part of a disease or even one of a similar nature, zee body’s immune system learns to fight back against zee disease, essentially preventing you from getting sick!”

“Yeah, but _ some people _ think it’s ‘_dangerous_’!” Marvin interjected, making air quotes.

“Yes, vhile I share your frustration, now is not zee time.”

The two groups came up to an intersection. Marvin turned to the others. “See you guys later, you remember what you need right?”

"Yes! Rosemary and some other items, correct?" Rachel looked over at Lanyon, who had just snapped out of his train of thought.

"That's right, rosemary and other miscellaneous things!" He gave a distant smile, seeming to still be shaken about what was happening.

"Good! Well, we shall meet each other back here, it shouldn't take too long! Good luck!" Jekyll waved, following Marvin as they crossed the intersection and began to head down the street. "Well, I've been interested in the scientific field since childhood! I can still recall my first experiment… sewing bird bits back together like Doctor Frankenstein!" He sighed, looking at his feet. "Sadly, she is not all she's cracked up to be…"

Marvin’s head snapped to attention. “Wait! You know Frankenstein?! Like, _Victor_ _Frankenstein_!?”

_ "Victoria _Frankenstein, yes. She's not very… nice, however. She called me, and I quote, 'An industrialist slut who is destroying the very soul of mad science!'" He rubbed his face in frustration. "And I'm treating her! I'm getting all of the medical equipment and medication she needs!" He growled, his eyes turning slightly brown.

Marvin’s face relaxed. “Dude. That sounds awful, I’m sorry about that.” A realization hit him a second too late, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. “Hold up! Frankenstein’s a girl in your universe!?”

Jekyll blinked, his eyes returning to normal before looking over at Marvin. "Yes, she's always been female! They changed her gender for privacy, I believe. She never really said."

“That’s cool! I may not be as well versed in science as Henrik is, but I do know that girls don’t get represented in the field as much. It’s good to see more women being represented, especially in your time period!” He rounded a corner, window shopping as he talked.

"The society has a good amount of women on the board! They all make wonderful contributions to the scientific field!" Jekyll also looked in the windows, marvelling at the fancy knick-knacks that modern times had to offer.

As the two of them continued down various streets, Marvin spotted a very familiar sign across another intersection: _ Oddities and Entities_. “There it is!” He gestured with his hand before placing both of them on his hips. “Trust me, you’ll like this shop! It’s full of fantastical things.”

Jekyll looked into the windows, seeing all sorts of glass vials and crystals hanging and catching the light. There was a cascade of color that flooded his vision as they approached the shop, beginning to notice small details such as types of flowers and pre-made brews. "Yes, I do believe I will enjoy this quaint little store!"

* * *

Jasper awkwardly sat in his chair, stiff and uncomfortable. Usually when meeting people, Jekyll was there to at the very least help spark small talk! He nervously pet Christopher glancing at the others in the room. "So, uh…" He cringed internally at his posture, "Does this happen… often?"

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

James couldn’t help but want to pet Christopher himself, however every time he reached out his hand, he pulled it back. He didn’t want to seem rude. Plus, he was a tad worried about possibly burning himself, flinching at the thought.

Chase, in the meantime, sat back on the couch, giggling to himself as he scrolled through memes on Reddit.

Jasper smiled, gently holding out Christopher to Jameson. "Feel free, he's a big cuddler!" He looked over at Jackie, tilting his head ever so slightly. "I mean like, Mister Hayes making messes like these?"

Chase looked over from his phone. “Oh, yeah. _ Ok_, not to this..._scale_, but he has caused some mishaps every so often. Like that one time he uhh…” He glanced at Jackie for help. “You remember that incident with the yarn, right?”

“Wasn’t he trying to make a sweater for Christmas or something?”

Chase snapped his fingers. “Yes! He didn’t know how to knit, so he tried to make the knitting needles knit themselves!” Chase laughed at the memory, trying to get the words out. “He...he had no idea how to control the speed, so we...so we basically ended up with a giant sweater all over everywhere!”

“Dude, didn’t it get caught in the ceiling fan?!”

The both of them were in stitches after that. Chase was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, and Jackie nearly fell off his chair.

James let out a silent, breathy chuckle of his own as he stroked Christopher’s back. 

Jasper giggled, beginning to relax. "Yeah, sounds like a handful! I know the feeling. I tried to make a wolfsbane potion and now every night I become a wolf-human hybrid instead of full on wolf! It could be worse, I guess, but hey! It keeps ya human! Or, in my case, it keeps ya wolfy!" A smile spread across his face, quickly becoming used to the familial setting.

Jack walked back out of the kitchen from grabbing a snack. “You two aren’t teasing Marvin behind his back again, are you?”

“Maybe?” Chase said, hiding behind his phone.

Jack sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat next to Chase on the couch. “Wait, you’re a werewolf?” He knew that these people dealt with the supernatural, but this was new. These were strange individuals, even for him!

Jasper quickly backpedaled, holding his hands up defensively. "Don't worry! I'm not dangerous or anything! I keep my sanity about me, I just look different is all!" Jasper rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking at the floor. "It was an accident, it happens when you work in cryptozoology..." 

Jack put his hands up too. “It’s alright! I didn’t think you were dangerous, I just didn’t know. That’s interesting!” He opened up the bag of crisps that he brought from the kitchen. “The most supernatural things we have to deal with are Marvin, Estelle, and Robbie.”

"Robbie?" Jasper tilted his head in confusion. "Who's that?" 

Jack opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing from down the hallway. He turned his head as he watched Robbie trundle down the hallway, an excited smile on his face. “Oh, hey, Robbie what’s up?”

“Look...what Robbie...found!” The zombie drawled.

Jasper gasped, quickly standing up and walking over to Robbie. "Hello! I'm Jasper! Nice to meet you!" He did a quick look up and down Robbie, noting the purple skin, white eyes, and torn clothing.

Robbie blinked his eyes for a moment, taking in the new person standing in front of him. He smiled. “Hi...Jasper…” He paused. “_I.._.am Robbie.” He slowly lifted his hand for a handshake.

Jasper gently took his hand, shaking it. "Robbie! What a wonderful name! Where do you come from?" 

Robbie put his finger on his chin, thinking. “Robbie doesn’t...know. First thing...Robbie...remember is...field.” He began rocking back and forth on his heels. “Lots of grass...and flowers...and birds!”

Jasper noticed the enthusiasm that filled Robbie when talking about animals, getting an idea. "Birds and flowers are nice! Would you like to meet a bird of mine?"

Robbie’s eyes glowed like the moon. “Friend?! Robbie...love friends!” He clasped his hands together excitedly.

Jasper smiled, walking over to James and gently taking Christopher from him. "Sorry! I'll give him back in a moment!" He walked back over to Robbie, cradling the mud phoenix in his arms. "This is Christopher!" 

In that moment, Robbie became a bouncing mess! “Christopher! Hello...friend! Can...Robbie hold...friend? Robbie...be gentle.”

"Of course! He loves to cuddle!" He handed Christopher over to Robbie, watching as he quickly settled in to his arms.

Christopher trilled, enjoying the cuddles he was getting. He caught a glimpse of something bright green. Noms? He gently pecked at the plant, trying to eat it.

Robbie frowned. “No...my plant…” He gently tried to adjust Christopher’s position in his arms.

Christopher clucked gently, still attempting to eat the sprout growing out of the man's arm.

"Christopher! We've talked about this!" He picked up Christopher and turned him around, setting him back in Robbie's arms. "No eating someone else's plants! Sorry about that, Robbie!" 

“It...ok.” Robbie gently stroked Christopher’s head. “He...just do...what he...do.”

Jackie turned around to look at Robbie from the chair. “Wait, plant?”

Jack was also a bit confused. “Were you carrying in a plant?”

Robbie nodded his head, and walked over to them. He almost forgot about showing him his friend. “Yeah...plant!” He carefully held out his left arm.

There, just below the crook of his elbow, a sprout was breaking its way through his skin. It curled ever so delicately, a tiny leaf showing at the end. 

Fascinating! So he was most definitely some sort of undead creature, probably a zombie… "How'd you manage to do that?"

Robbie sort of shrugged his shoulders. “Robbie...think seed...got stuck.”

Meanwhile, the other egos stared at the sprout poking out of Robbie’s forearm. “Robbie,” Chase began, “Are you sure that’s healthy?”

Robbie tilted his head. “But...plants good. Plants...friend!”

"Yes, but it's growing _ in _you!" Jasper looked closer at the plant, stunned by its survival.

Robbie frowned. “Is...it bad? It...doesn’t...feel bad.” He held his arm in a protective manner, trying not to drop Christopher in the process. “Plant...get food and...water...and sunshine. Robbie take...care of all...his friends.”

He looked over at Seán, concerned. "I do believe the decision is up to Mr. Mcloughlin..." He didn't want to upset his new friend, but he also didn't want him to get hurt. Would it hurt more to remove the plant now that it'd taken root?

Jack sighed, gently placing his hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

Robbie paused a moment, gently flexing his arm. He nodded his head slowly. “It fine…”

“Ok, _ but _ if it ever starts to hurt, let us know ok? It could get too big. Besides, we could always help you move it to a pot, ok?”

Robbie beamed, wrapping his arms around Jack and giving him a hug. “Thank...you!”

He returned the embrace. “No problem.” Once they finished their hug, Jack sat down, Robbie taking the empty space next to him.

Jasper smiled, sitting back down. This was gonna be a long day…

* * *

Marvin stepped into the shop, the jingle of the bell making him smile. He took in a deep breath as the aroma of herbs, dusty tomes, and incense hit his senses. “God I love this place…”

Jekyll took in a quick scan of the room, seeing the ingredients he needed for the HJ7, perfect! "Very homey!" 

The woman at the counter lifted her head from her book, smiling gently. “Hello there Marvin dear, what brings you here today!” 

“Hey, Margaret! Just coming to get some supplies is all!” Marvin replied as he scanned the shelves.

She adjusted her glasses. “I see you’ve brought a friend with you and an unusual one at that.” She sent a wink in Jekyll’s direction. “Of course, we’re all unusual here.”

Jekyll smiled, enjoying the woman's strangeness. He steepled his hands once more. "I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll! Pleasure to meet you, Margaret!"

“Oh! I’ve heard of you before!” She said, smiling before turning to Marvin. “What was it you needed, dear?”

Marvin poked his head out from over a shelf. “I’m all out of dragon bone. You see…” He clenched his teeth as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I uhh...got myself into a bit of a pickle.”

Margaret chuckled. “I get the feeling Dr. Jekyll here has something to do with that?”

“I..I uh...yeah. Yeah, he does.”

Jekyll's features began to fill with slight terror as he strode over to the counter and talked in a hushed tone. "How much do you know about me?" 

“Only as much as anyone else can, dear.” She noticed Marvin peering around one of the shelves. It was filled with jars containing all manner of strange herbs and potion supplies. “It’s on the top left, dear! They’re in alphabetical order.”

Marvin looked up in the other corner. “Oh. Thanks!” He channeled his energy as he levitated the jar down from the shelf and into his hands.

“Anytime!” Margaret turned back to Jekyll. “Now, was there anything you were looking for, dear?”

Jekyll recomposed himself, coughing. "Ah, yes, I do need a few chemicals." He listed off the ingredients, sighing as she left to grab them.

** _Do you think she knows?_ **

_ Hyde, not now. _

Hyde manifested behind Jekyll, his shadowy form curling around him like a snake trapping it's prey.** _ Wouldn't that be neat? Who else would she tell, hm? Maybe all of London knows who you are now!_ **

_ Hyde… _

** _Picture that! Paperboys screaming your name from the streets! "Local highly esteemed scientist is a monster! A societal disgrace—!"_ **

_ I said. shut. UP! _Jekyll slammed his fists on the counter, growling as his hair lightened ever so slightly.

Marvin looked at Jekyll. “You ok, dude?” He walked up next to him, placing the jar on the counter, his brows furrowing.

Margaret returned, levitating the ingredients. “Is everything ok out here?” She asked, placing them on the counter and doing a quick check to make sure she didn’t miss anything.

Jekyll remembered himself, slowly unclenching his fists. He coughed, the slight changes undoing themselves. "Yes, yes, my apologies! I, uh, I'm prone to outbursts. It happens under pressure."

** _You've got to cave some time, Jekyll! And when you do, I'll be right there to shove you further down the hole that _ ** **you ** ** _created._ **

“I get that.” Marvin said. “You should see me when I’m practicing my sleight of hand or magic sometimes.” He chuckled at the thought, remembering that one time he materialized a table only to flip it.

“I see…” Margaret said, finishing her mental checklist. “Will that be all for today?”

“I’m good! You?”

"Yes, perfect! Thank you, madame!" Jekyll sighed internally, relaxing just a bit. "Again, my apologies, I should be able to contain my anger better." 

“It’s no problem, dear. Your total is £23.21.” 

Marvin handed her the money, picking up the jar. “Thanks, Margaret!”

“Anytime, dear.” She handed Jekyll his bag. “Now, be careful about magic, you never know what sort of trouble you could get yourselves into. And that goes for _ both _ of you.” She gently smiled.

Jekyll gave her a genuine, yet somber smile. "Trust me, I may know that better than anyone." He took the bag from her, following Marvin out the door.

* * *

“Go fish.” Chase said, as he held his deck of cards.

The group had been showing Jasper how to play modern card games. They were currently in a round of Go Fish, a game that had been suggested by Jackie after getting most of the cards in Uno three times in a row. That game ruined friendships, he swore.

James sighed, drawing a card from the deck.

"Robbie, do you have a… king?" He looked down at his hand, only having about 3 cards left.

Robbie nodded, before handing him the two that he had. “Robbie...have some.”

Jasper set down a pair of kings, thinking for a moment. "Jackie, do you have have a red three?"

Jackie groaned, handing him his three cards. “For someone who’s never played this game before, you’re good.”

Jack chuckled, “Today is not your lucky day, Jackie.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t remind me. You don’t need to rub it in.”

Jasper set down another pair, grinning smugly as he only had one card left, and 4 pairs. "James, do you have a black 6?" 

James shook his head. He looked at his own hand. He’d been lucky to get the queen he’d been looking for. Now all he needed was one more and he could at least tie with Jasper.

The front door opened as Marvin’s voice carried into the room. “Hey, guys! We’re back!” Marvin held the door open with his back, letting Jekyll walk in first. 

"Thank you, my good man!" Jekyll stepped into the room, setting down his bag on a nearby table. "Did we miss anything? Rachel, Lanyon, and Dr. Schneeplestein are still at the store."

"No, not much! I'm winning at this new fangled game called "go fish!" Apparently I'm doing good for my first time!" Jasper smiled, looking up at Jekyll and Marvin.

“That’s neat!” Marvin replied, following Jekyll and shutting the door. “We should probably take this stuff up to my work room. Maybe I can show you around?”

Robbie, at the sound of Jekyll’s voice turned around. “Oh! Hello...new person! What...name?” He waved at him with his free hand.

"Hello! I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll! Pleasure to meet you." He waved back, smiling warmly. "And you are?"

Jasper jumped, remembering introductions. "Dr. Jekyll, this is Robbie! He's a fellow undead friend!" Jasper patted Robbie's shoulder, his grin growing.

Robbie beamed. “Robbie...want to...know Jek...more…”

“Hey, if you wanna talk to Robbie, I can take your bag up to my room and you can meet me there. How does that sound?” Marvin asked, smiling at Robbie and giving a small wave to him. 

Jekyll seemed slightly surprised, but took to the invitation to join them. "Sure! Thank you, Mister Hayes!" He walked over to the coffee table and sat himself down on a couch, folding his hands. "So, what would you like to know!"

Jasper smiled as he grabbed a card from the deck in front of him, wondering if they were still gonna keep the game going.

“Umm…” Robbie slowly looked between the cards and Jekyll. It was his turn. But he had been asked a question. He sat there for a moment.

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok Robbie. The game can wait a second."

The zombie’s usual smile crept back onto his face. “Robbie...want to know...what...you like.”

"Ah! Well, I like science, I like animals, I like my friends, hmm…" should he say wine? This man had what seemed to be the mental capacity of a child, so perhaps that wasn't the most appropriate topic… "And I like Miss Pidgely's baking! What do you like?"

Robbie adjusted his sitting position to face Jekyll a little better. “Robbie...like friends too! Plants...animals...family...All friends…” He tilted his head. “Pigeon? Robbie like food...Robbie...don’t think pigeons...bake.” He laughed at the image a little. A pigeon trying to reach an oven with its tiny wings. 

Jekyll smiled a genuine smile. "Well, her first name is Rachel, and she can bake wonderfully! You should try some of her goods one day!" Jekyll quickly sneaked a peek at his watch, noticing that it was currently 10:35 AM. Perfect. Plenty of time to talk to this Robbie fellow, make the HJ7, grab dinner, and then let Hyde loose.

** _Let me loose? I'm not an animal, Jekyll, I'm a man just like you! A man with wants, and needs, and—_ **

_ And the temper of a child who has only been told yes his entire life. _

** _I hate you._ **

"Do you have any other questions for me, kind sir?" 

Robbie’s eyes glowed a bit at the thought of food. He liked muffins. Muffins were nice. Maybe he could ask Rachel to make him some. “Jek...like plants? Robbie have...friend...with him now…”

"Why yes! I _ do _love plants! What is this friend of yours?"

Jasper assumed the game was over—or at least paused—so he set his cards face down on the table, enjoying the banter between Dr. Jekyll and Robbie.

Robbie pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, showing the sprout growing from his arm. “I like...friend.”

Jackie tried to move his hand to peek at Jasper’s cards, only to have Jack smack it and give him a stern look.

Jekyll's eyes lit up with amazement, leaning in towards the sprout growing inside the undead man's arm. "Astonishing! It seems your body has created the perfect grounds for a plant to thrive! The nutrients, combined with the natural moisture your arm gives, has made the perfect mini garden!" Jekyll gently touched one of the leafs, amazed that it didn't fall off at the sudden pressure.

Jasper shot Jackie a slight glare, before turning back to the quaint conversation that Robbie and Jekyll we're having. It wasn't often he got to see Jekyll this excited. The last time he saw him like this, he was flipping through his notebook in the carriage!

Robbie nodded excitedly. “Robbie have...more friends...in room...Want...to...see?”

Jekyll attempted to contain his excitement, recomposing himself before saying, "Yes, absolutely!"

Jasper took this as the game being officially over, and flipped his cards face up. "Well, I do believe that I win, in that case!"

Robbie stumbled as he stood up, eagerly heading down the hallway towards his room.

Jackie crossed his arms and grumbled. He had the lowest amount of sets. Namely zero. Marking him tonight’s biggest loser. 

He was never playing another card game again. Maybe.

Chase chuckled at Jackie a little, “Come on, don’t be a sore loser.” He stood up, deciding to follow Robbie and Jekyll.

Jackie groaned, standing up. “Fine…”

Watching the others get up to leave, James and Jack got up as well. 

Jekyll happily followed Robbie to his room, excited to see the flora that he had cultivated all on his own! It reminded him of home…

Jasper also followed them, adding to the trail of people behind the kind zombie. He hoped that the plants in this garden would be at least _ somewhat _ kinder than the one he saw on his first day.

Robbie opened his door to the lush room. The room was covered nearly wall to wall in plants. Some of them hung in baskets from the ceiling. There were shelves covered with flowers. A tree in a pot sat in a corner. 

On a table, surrounded by more plants was an ant farm, a fish tank, and two terrariums. One with a day gecko, and the other with hermit crabs.

A bed rested by the window, giving view to a bird feeder hanging from a tree outside.

Over all, the room was a little warmer than the rest of the house. This was in order to keep the plants in good condition. Robbie had to make sure all his friends were ok!

"Amazing! What beautiful plants you have, Robbie!" He moved from wall to wall, gently doing a few observations on the plants. They were all in perfect condition, full of love and care, and they radiated an energy of… calm.

Jasper followed Robbie over to his animals, smiling at the ants and hermit crabs. "You've got quite the collection goin here! They look happy!" 

Robbie blushed as he smiled. “Robbie...keep all friends...safe. Robbie...wish he could go to...green...house.” He frowned for a second. “Robbie...know it not...safe to...go out…” He fidgeted his hands, watching his day gecko move around in its terrarium. “People...get scared…”

Jekyll sighed, before remembering that Mister Hayes was probably waiting for him in his work room. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I must excuse myself! I must go help Mister Hayes with his alchemy! Robbie, what you have here is beautiful, please keep it up!" He rushed out of the room, heading up the stairs and into Marvin's room.

"Oh, goodbye Dr. Jekyll!" Jasper waved at the door before turning back to Robbie. "Well, people get scared of me too! But sometimes, you just have to prove that looks don't define personality!" He smiled, looking at the terrarium. "Actions speak louder than words and looks, my undead friend!" 

Robbie’s smile returned to his face, his dimples popping back up. “Thank...you...Maybe Robbie...try it…”

Marvin finished laying out all of the ingredients, trying to double check to make sure they hadn’t left anything out. He turned to his cat who laid on a chair next to him. “I hope this will work Pips. I’d hate to be responsible for them being stuck here all because of my impulse.”

Pips gently rubbed his face against Marvin’s hand. He sighed and scratched the cat behind his ears. “Thanks, buddy.”

He turned his head as Jekyll walked into the room. “There you are! How was it?”

"It was simply divine! He showed me a small sprout that was growing out of him, and then he led us to his room that was full of delightful botany!" He strode over to the table, looking at the ingredients. "We do not yet have the sparkling water, so I do believe I might work on my own personal project! Mind if I use your tools?"

“Nah, man, go ahead. What are you working on anyways?” Marvin asked, handing Jekyll the beaker he had been holding.

Jekyll began to pour in some of the liquid ingredients, placing the tube over a Bunsen burner and lighting it. "You see, I believe in the theory that the human soul is not one, but two distinct sides, good and evil."

He gently poured in another ingredient, stirring it together as it boiled. "These sides are always at odds with each other, fighting an internal battle that continues on as long as the human race exists."

He turned off the Bunsen burner, finally pouring in a chemical salt, which turned the once clear liquid into a bright red. It danced and sparkled like diamonds at night. 

"If we were able to split the two sides, and completely destroy evil, then we would be able to live in harmony, a society built purely on peace and love." He carefully lifted the tube, grabbing a cork, and popping it on. "No more murder, muggings, or robbery, just trust."

Marvin watched him as he worked. Not being the best at alchemy, watching Jekyll was fascinating. “Damn...That’s wicked. I like it! Maybe you could show me how to do stuff like that.” 

"My dear boy, this is something you do not wish to learn, trust me." As he looked in the reflection of the tube, he saw himself morph, turning into Hyde as he began to mock him.

** _Gee, you fancy up your little Utopia, and then tell him to not pursue it? You might as well tell a dog to not eat a steak! What's a pathetic _ ** **no ** ** _gonna do? Pique his interest? Maybe get him far more determined? You have simply dug yourself another hole, Henry._ **

“No, I meant in general. I don’t really have much of an interest in your project, that’s your thing. It sounds cool! But I dunno.” He walked back to the table, picking up Pips and stroking him. “Alchemy is not my strong point. Sure, I can do some things, but not very well. To put it bluntly: I’m kind of shit.”

"Well, everyone isn't an expert when they start out! I'm sure you had to practice your magics for years before you got the hang of it!" He set down the vial on a nearby table, turning around and facing Marvin. "However, just for a tip, every good alchemist writes down their process! That way recreation is perfect, and has no possible slip ups that could ruin the whole thing."

Marvin laughed awkwardly. “Yep. That’s totally what I do, all the time! Anyway”—he gently set Pips down on the ground, side stepping in front of his ingredient lay out—“I think we should get started on this.”

"Yes, I do believe we should! However, we don't have the base ingredient to start our work on. Do you believe that Dr. Lanyon and the others shall be home soon?" He looked out a nearby window.

Marvin laughed under his breath. Now he knew for sure that Jekyll liked Lanyon. “I dunno. I’d say they’d be home in about five to ten minutes? Until then, what do you wanna talk about?”

"Oh! Uh, I suppose whatever is fine with you, good sir!" He snapped his attention back to Marvin, gesturing to the chairs. "Shall we take a seat?" 

“Nah. I was thinking we’d just stand here.” Marvin replied, sitting down in a chair backwards. “So, do you have any pets?” He picked up Pips off the floor, causing the cat to give a somewhat startled mewl.

Jekyll thought for a moment, then remembered his small friend back home. "I do have a pet church Grimm! He's very friendly, a very good boy!" He tilted his head and closed his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. "He has a little stick out tongue! Very adorable~"

“A church Grimm! That’s new. I don’t know if I’ve heard of that one. Pips here is a magic cat! He’s a Shifter! Essentially, those are creatures that can turn into objects. They have other magical abilities, but over all, they’re often classified as a type of enchanted object. What Pips can become is a cat mask!” As a demonstration, Pips transformed into the mask, certain parts of his body glowing, red, black, or green, matching their respective colors on the artifact.

"Fascinating! I do believe that Jasper would like to learn more about Pips, he specializes in the supernatural!" He watched in awe as the small being transformed. "The church grimm is simply an undead puppy dog! Very adorable nonetheless, but people feel that they're bad omens! I could never understand why, they simply mind their own business!"

“Yeah, that’s how people would feel about Robbie. How some of us felt the first time, to be honest.” He looked at the ground solemnly, giving a sigh as he continued. “I hate to admit it,...but I didn’t want anything to do with him at first. He just sorta...freaked me out. I mean, I had a _ reason _, heh, if you could call it a good one is another story. I still feel guilty about it from time to time.”

He looked back up. “But hey, enough feeling down in the dumps. How long have you known your friends for? How close are, say, you and Lanyon?” 

"Oh, goodness! We've been friends since childhood! He's been my rock, he keeps me on the straight and narrow!" His features softened as he thought of the fun college memories and hijinks they used to get into. "He's one of my closest companions. I don't know where I'd be without him."

** _Probably in some ditch, dying from alcohol poisoning._ **

_ How cheery... _

“Yeah, I get you! I’ve got my friends and family and boyfriend. Honestly, they are like 80% of my impulse control.” Marvin laughed as he recalled a time when he was about to eat a hot pepper despite being a noob when it comes to spices. Tom still teased him that if he hadn’t stopped him, he’d be dead.

Jekyll felt confusion fill his features as he looked at Marvin. "Can boys have boyfriends now? Is that a 2019 thing?"

_ YOU CAN HAVE A BOYFRIEND? THAT'S AN OPTION? _

** _Yes, dipshit, you're too far up your own ass to notice._ **

_ DOES LANYON KNOW? CAN I LET HIM KNOW? DO I HAVE A CHANCE? _

** _Why do you wanna date Bird Nose over here? There's other good looking people out there, plenty of eligible bachelors~_ **

Hyde covered his ears as a loud screaming rang out in the mindscape. ** _Jesus Christ, Henry! Shut your yap! I still have a hangover from the other night._ **

“Oh yeah! People are figuring out their identities all the time! I’m really glad with the way things are now, because when I was younger… Oh boy. We were _ so popular_.” He waved his hands in an exaggerated gesture to emphasize his words. “But yeah, I’ve been dating Tom for about three months now. It’s been great!”

He sat up in his chair, the realization hitting him. “Wait! Shit man, you’re from the 1800’s right? Wasn’t being gay… like… punishable by death or something in Britain?!”

"Gay? Like, happy gay? No, I believe that outlawing happiness would be rather dystopian, don't you think?" He folded his hands in his lap, sitting on the concept for a moment. "Very, very dystopian…"

“Oh!” Marvin smacked his forehead. “Right, new slang. Umm… how do I explain this. Oh, I dunno, how about the simplest option?” He answered his own question in a mocking tone. “Alright, so being gay is like—”

"Jekyll! Mister Hayes! We're home!" Lanyon yelled up the stairs as he entered. "Apologies for being late, we took longer than expected due to _ someone _ getting stuck in the meat section."

"Hey! Don't give me that look! They had so much stuff!"

"Anyways, I do believe we have everything you need!" Lanyon set down the few bags he was carrying, watching as Jekyll came down the stairs.

"Thank you, Lanyon! No need to apologize anyways, we were the ones that left you!" He grabbed the sparkling water from the bag, smiling. "Perhaps we should plan better next time, don't you think?"

"Yes, perhaps we should!" Lanyon offered a smile of his own, his chubby cheeks making him look so precious.

“Oh! That’s great! Thanks, Robert!” He picked up the rosemary from the bag. ‘_Rather convenient. Great timing, universe,_’ Marvin thought with a slight smirk.

Jekyll coughed, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. "Anyways, I do believe Marvin and I should get back to work. Shall we?" He shot Lanyon one last smile before turning on his heel and heading up the stairs.

"Ah… yes, I suppose so..." Lanyon sighed, his smile going crooked. Perhaps next time.

“Yeah! Don’t worry, you two can spend more time together later. Thanks again!” Marvin followed Jekyll back up to his work room.

“Let us know if you need anysing else, alright?” Henrik called as he started to put some of the groceries away. 

"We will!" Jekyll let himself into Marvin's room, setting down the sparkling water and beginning to throw himself into his work like usual. "Mister Hayes, do you remember what you added first besides the sparkling water?" He placed an empty test tube over the Bunsen burner, filling the tube with the sparkling water and lighting the burner.

Marvin scrunched his face as he thought. “Well...I think there was the umm…”

“The flower?” Estelle’s tiny voice popped up from behind Marvin, startling him.

“Estelle, I thought you were with James and the others.”

“No, I’ve been in the watch. I just thought I’d help.” She floated over to a jar of orchids sitting on a shelf. “I saw James put this away after the shake, but it was on the table before. I remember!” She grinned.

Jekyll quickly grabbed an orchid, dropping it into the beaker and watching the liquid turn a light blue. "What next?"

“I think it was the bone…” Marvin grabbed the jar, unscrewing the top. “How much it was...that’s something I gotta think about.” God, he felt stupid. As much as he loved magic it was frustrating at times, especially with his dumb ass.

"That's quite alright, we can make up for it later, are you writing this down?" Jekyll grabbed a pinch of the dragon bone, tossing it into the vial and stirring with a glass stick. He smiled as the bone dissolved, the color changing to a light purple..

“Yeah!” Marvin replied, practically scrambling for a scroll or a journal and jotting what they had so far. “Well, _ now _ I am. Also, I think I’m starting to remember more.” He tapped the pen to his chin in thought, trying to drag up another memory.

“Was it this?” Estelle pointed to the mushrooms on the table.

Marvin shook his head. “No, it was the rosemary. Thanks, though!” He picked up a few sprigs, handing them to Jekyll.

Jekyll tossed them into the tube, stirring once more. The color didn't change this time, odd… "No further alterations to the coloring of the potion… Perhaps the rosemary doesn't interact with the other ingredients the same way the dragon bone does."

Marvin shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, maybe it’s not _ dramatic _ enough.” He tossed Jekyll one of the mushrooms as he emphasized his words with a flip of his cape and a bounce of his eyebrows. “I know for a fact the mushrooms are next because adding my aura was last.”

Jekyll grabbed the mushroom out of the air with surprisingly cat-like reflexes, tearing it into smaller bits and dropping it into the vial. Now all he needed to do was turn off the heat, filter, and let Marvin work his magic! "Did you get all of that?"

“You bet!” He finished jotting it down in the scroll and strolled over to the beaker. He cracked his knuckles. “Watch and learn!”

Estelle “sat” herself in a chair, propping her arms up on the table and letting her head rest in them as she observed. She always loved it when Marvin did magic, no matter how small.

He closed his eyes, concentrating, before waving his hand over the beaker. Gently, green particles floated down into the glass like embers from a flame. “That should do it!” He said, placing his hands on his hips.

"Alright, now all we need is Mister Jackson's pocket watch! Estelle, could you be a dear and fetch him for us?" He looked over at Estelle and smiled, still not quite understanding how children worked.

“Sure thing Mr. Jekyll, Sir!” She saluted, doing a somersault in the air before diving to the floor and phasing through it.

A few minutes later, James rapped on the door and walked in, holding out the watch.

"Thank you, mister Jackson!" He gently took the pocket watch from Jameson, setting it on the work table. "Brace yourselves, everyone! If this reaction is anything like the one mister Hayes described, then we should grab a hold of something stable!"

Jekyll opened the watch, pouring a drop of the mixture into the gears. He covered his face and spread his legs apart, preparing for..! Nothing… nothing happened. Damn it!

“Well, now what are we supposed to do?” Marvin said, his brows furrowing. “Oh man...I hope you guys aren’t stuck here…Oh boy…” Marvin started to pace back and forth before he was intercepted by James’s hand on his shoulder.

“_It’s ok. We’ll figure this out,_” James signed. “_I know you, Marvin. You might get yourself into quite the jam, but you always manage to get yourself out in the end. Even if that means you need some help! _” He smiled gently, rubbing his arm once he finished. He hoped what he’d said would help.

Marvin took in a deep breath before replying, “Heh, thanks, James.”

Jekyll processed this information for a moment, staring at the wood of the table. "Stuck? Who said we were stuck! We've simply reached a small road block, no problem there!" He said this in a tone that almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "We'll just… work until we get the same result! There's a very small amount of ingredients, the process shouldn't be that hard!"

** _Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Jekyll. Don't forget, you made a promise! No working for you tonight!_ **

Jekyll's fake smile was lined with a hint of nerves, his eyes becoming a little bit more brown than usual…

James tilted his head, concern in his eyes as he watched Jekyll. Granted, the doctor still made him nervous, but he still felt bad for the man. He reached out his hand to place it on his shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. However, the feeling was probably numbed by his sudden freak out. _ His eyes. Jeepers, his eyes!_

“You’re right!” Marvin said with a little more confidence. “If I did it once, I can do it again.” He strode back over to the table, picking up a new vial.

Jekyll took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and letting his body relax. It's okay, he wasn't in this alone. He opened his eyes, giving Jameson a determined smirk before patting his hand. His eyes were red once more. "Right! We must get back to work!" He pulled away from Jameson, walking back over to the alchemy station.

James felt the need to stare at the floor. Was he seeing things? He didn’t like the odds of that…

“Agreed!” Marvin said, holding up the empty vial in the air above his head. “Right James?! James?” He saw the look on his face and lowered the vial. “Hey, are you alright?” Now it was his turn to lend a comforting hand.

James jumped a second before regaining his composure. He nodded his head. He really needed to stop letting his thoughts get the better of him. Everything was fine. It had to be.

Jekyll tilted his head as he watched the interaction between the two. Was it something he had done? Should he have said something?

Marvin smiled at James, giving him one final pat before returning to Jekyll’s side. “Ok, let’s get to it!” He picked up the vial again. “Maybe we added them in the wrong order.”

* * *

"—So I believe we are indeed close, I'm just not sure how close we really are…" Jekyll gently pushed his plate forward, nodding to Rachel in a thankful gesture.

Lanyon looked down at his folded hands, thinking for a moment. "Well, any progress is good progress."

"Uh, have we figured out sleeping arrangements?" Jasper popped his head in, finally filling in the once baggy clothes as he gripped the wall with clawed, furry hands. "I do believe I should settle in for the night pretty soon here..." Jasper Kaylock, once human looking, was now at least 6'0", covered in soft, fluffy, ginger hair, his yellow eyes bringing the look together.

The egos just stared at Jasper, blinking. Henrik started to panic a little. “Oh shit. Oh fuck, oh man, did zee potion affect Jasper in some vay?!”

“He’s a werewolf, dipshit.” Marvin deadpanned.

Henrik glared. “Zat vas rude and uncalled for.”

“Not really considering how you’ve been treating me all day.”

As the two of them continued to bicker Chase was in awe. “Dude! You look wicked!” He pulled out his phone and took a picture. It’s not everyday one saw a werewolf.

Jackie, famously lacking in certain social cues, reached out his hand to pet him.

Robbie in the meantime, was ecstatic. “Puppy!!”

James could only continue to stare, yet a slight half smile appeared on his face. This was neat.

Jasper leaned into Jackie's touch ever so slightly, the tip of his tail wagging just a little as he fully entered the room, a wide smile on his face. "Gee, the last time this many people saw me like this, I almost got arrested and burned to death!"

"Yes, my associate, Mr. Hyde, was wandering in London's East end when he heard the commotion! Luckily I stepped in before the officers did anything too brash." He turned to look at Jasper, a light smile dancing on his features.

Rachel smiled as she slid a plate of chocolate chip cookies into the center of the table. "Yes! Very lucky indeed! The society is thriving with Jasper as one of the new Lodgers!" She walked over to said wolfman and rubbed his head, a subtle blush on her cheeks. 

“He what?!” Marvin practically yelled. “Holy shit man, that’s gotta suck.”

Chase contorted his face in disgust. “I can’t believe some people. I know you were from the 1800s but still…”

James nodded his head slowly, his body tensing.

Henrik gave James a nervous look.

“_I’m so sorry that happened to you, Jasper._”

"Well, I'm still alive, so that's what matters." His tail wagged harder, despite his protests.

Lanyon coughed a bit, gathering some attention before turning the topic back to the original question. "I do believe Mister Kaylock has a very important question. What _ are _the sleeping arrangements?"

“Vell,” Henrik started, “I vas sinking zat Rachel could probably take zee couch in zee living room if zat vas ok vis her. I believe James said he vas fine vis eizer Jasper or Robert.”

James tucked his head into his shoulders like a turtle, nodding. He hoped Jekyll wouldn’t be offended in any way.

“Hey, you can room with me if you want to, Jekyll.” Marvin said. “I’ve got, like, a chair you can sleep in if that’s ok. I don’t think any of you would like sleeping bags to be honest.”

Lanyon groaned. "Don't worry about Jekyll, I once found him passed out on the floor."

"That was in college!" Henry giggled a little. "A chair is fine, Mister Hayes."

"Alright, I'll room up with Mister Jackson."

"Me and Rachel will take the living room! We don't sleep well anyways…" Jasper sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well then, I believe I will begin to turn in for the night." Jekyll stood from his chair, pushing it in and thanking Rachel for dinner before walking away.

Henrik looked at the clock. “Yes, I do believe it is getting razer late. Sank you again for zee lovely meal, Rachel. You are a fine cook.” He too stood from his chair, giving his arms a well needed stretch. “I vill see you all in zee morning zen.” He left the kitchen and headed down the hall towards the stairs.

Lanyon's smile faded ever so slightly, yawning as he looked over at Jameson. "Could you please show me to your quarters? I do not wish to intrude..."

Jasper grabbed a handful of the cookies off the table when he noticed no one grab for them, politely nibbling at them as he followed Rachel back outside. He smiled, enjoying the new nightly routine of talking outside and then turning in.

James nodded, waving to the others as he left the room, picking up a cookie on his way out. He led him to his room, opening the door to reveal the cozy interior. “_What do you th—_” He started to sign only to realize that Lanyon did not know sign language. He curled in on himself, fidgeting, usure what to do. As he slid into the room, he got an idea. He grabbed a pad of paper from his side-table, asking the same question.

Jackie, Marvin, and Chase eyed the plate of cookies, glaring at each other. This was going to be it, the ultimate fight to claim the prize! They each readied themselves, preparing to strike: Marvin with his magic, Jackie with his powers, and Chase with a Nerf gun from seemingly out of nowhere. They pulled out their respective weapons and—

“I svear, if I hear you sree fighting over zose cookies, I vill come down zere and take zem!!” Henrik’s voice called from up the stairs.

They heaved a sigh, each taking one cookie and heading to bed.

* * *

It was dark. Incredibly dark. After all, the sun had set a fair while ago leaving nothing but the moon, stars, streetlights, and buildings.

Although, that wasn’t entirely true. Two emerald orbs of light surveyed the air in front of them. They narrowed as their owner tilted its head to the side. Directly before them sat a sort of..._distortion_. It was hard to describe really.

Carefully, the figure stuck its hand out and watched it disappear. The rest of its body followed it, and for a moment the alley was empty.

Then, it returned. Stepping back into the alley, it wiggled and flexed its fingers. A sharp toothed grin spread across its face.

“Ì̴̡n̨̛t̡͜͞e̵͟r̵̨͢͠es̀͟͞͠t̨į͢͠n̷g̶̵̴͝...”

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like at the beginning of the story, I apologize for any problems with spacing. This one is due to not just Google Docs though, but with a certain font. AO3 be picky like that sometimes.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy reading! Seriously, all of you leaving kudos make me very happy! Feedback is always appreciated, no matter what form! ^^
> 
> But yeah, prepare yourselves...danger be on the rise...

James turned another page of his book as he sat in his bed. He made sure to grab a different book, this one being _ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_. Marvin had suggested this series to him, and he’d been loving it so far.

He looked over in Lanyon’s direction. He was currently in his armchair which he hoped was comfortable enough for him. It was the only other place in his room to sleep, and he certainly didn’t want him to take the floor.

At the very least, if he was not comfortable, he’d offer to take the chair. He’d fallen asleep in it while reading enough times anyway.

Lanyon had begun to nod off, the dull yet warm light of the lamp on Jameson's bedside table being just enough to remind him of the familiar candle light of his home. He shifted a bit, turning on his side before finally dozing off to sleep.

Rachel, however, was sitting out on the back porch with Jasper. They didn't have access to the roof, so this was the next best thing. "So, time travel, huh?"

Jasper nodded. "I'm still processing a lot of it… I mean, one moment I'm at home, and the next I'm decades in the future in some random person's house!" He rubbed the back of his neck as he ate another cookie, staring at the stars with Christopher in his lap, who had fallen asleep a while ago.

James gave a yawn as he shut the book and put it on the table, making sure to mark the page with a bookmark. He shut off the lamp and rested his head on his pillow.

Henrik smiled as the reply from Suzi popped up on his phone. Checking the time, he texted her a “_goodnight._” He took off his glasses and made himself comfortable. Hopefully they could solve this madness soon and get those folks back home.

Jekyll sighed as he heard practically no commotion anymore. Seemingly, everyone had gone to bed except Jasper and Rachel, of course. They wouldn't know, however, as Jekyll had simply been hiding out in the bathroom.

** _Wow, you actually had a good idea for once! Now come on, drink the serum and set me free!_ **

Jekyll held up the small vial, luckily making another one for later which he left in Marvin's room. They did have to return there after all. Here goes nothing...

Marvin finished putting on his pajamas and finished his glass of water as he headed towards his bed. Once he was settled he felt the covers shift as Pips hopped up next to him. The cat crept over to Marvin’s side, kneading the sheets with his claws as he lay down. Marvin smiled as the cat curled up at his side, his gentle purring lulling him to sleep.

Jekyll touched the vial to his lips, slamming his head back, and downing the serum in one swig. It burned all the way down, that familiar burn he dealt with almost each night.

He hissed under his breath as an intense aching pain filled his whole body, causing him to grip onto the sink counter with an almost inhuman force. The sound of popping and cracking filled the room as a bright green liquid dripped from the corners of his eyes and mouth. He watched in agony as the man in the mirror changed into a too familiar face.

Green filled his irises as his hair grew in length, becoming messy and blonde. His bones shortened, his frame shrinking as his body began to swim in his once perfectly fitted clothes. He closed his eyes, opening them back up to see…

Edward Hyde stretched his arms, rolling up the sleeves of his button up and pants as he wiped his face of the residue. "Look out, England! Edward Hyde is on the loose!"

_ Do you have to be so cheesy? _

"Yes, always!" He exited the bathroom, turning the lights off and rushing with light feet to change into something a bit more comfortable.

Robbie grabbed one more cookie as he walked into the kitchen to refill his watering can. He always made sure his friends were taken care of before he would head off to dreamland himself. He had already fed his animals, and now all he had to do was finish giving the plants a drink. He placed the cookie in his mouth and ran the faucet, humming.

Hyde walked into the kitchen, expecting to see Rachel but instead seeing an undead creature… strange, but nothing abnormal. "Oi! Who're you?" He hopped up onto the counter, sitting down and grabbing his own cookie as his ripped cape laid out on the table.

Jasper stopped, hearing a familiar voice ring from the kitchen. "Rachel, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Mr. Hyde, I heard him in the kitchen…"

"Nonsense!" Rachel waved her hand, smirking. "Mr. Hyde isn't here! He didn't go through the portal like we did!" 

Jasper looked over at her, slightly concerned. "Well, we did go through first, he might have hopped in at the last second and then disappeared…"

"I doubt it, it's fine!" She grabbed one of her own cookies, biting into it before she continued their conversation.

Robbie turned at the sound of another new voice. “Oh! Hello...friend…” He blinked his moon-like eyes at this new person. He took in their appearance, noting the green clothes and the tattered cape. “Name...Robbie...What about...you?”

"Hyde, Edward Hyde!" He grabbed another cookie, taking in the appearance of the man in front of him and finally registering this 'Robbie' fellow as a zombie. "Say, have you ever eaten anyone?" 

Robbie blinked for a moment, registering the question. His eyes widened, and he stepped back a bit. “No…Robbie...not eat...friends…_never_.” The zombie frowned, raising his hands to his face, a slight tremble in his lips. “Robbie good...boy....Robbie...good...boy…”

Hyde panicked, staring at the trembling zombie. He wasn't good with emotions, that was Jekyll's thing! And as of now, Jekyll was deep asleep in the mindscape… "Hey, come on, now! I—I was only joking!" He took off his tophat, placing it on the zombie. "See? Now you're a gentleman! Gentlemen don't cry, do they?" He crossed his arms triumphantly, smirking. See? He didn't need Jekyll! He could handle himself!

The tension left his body as he giggled. “Gentle...man...Robbie like...hat.” He brushed the brim with his fingertips, the trademark smile returning. “Thank…” He trundled over to Hyde, prepared to give him a hug.

Hyde begrudgingly accepted the hug, realizing he was probably never gonna get that hat back. Oh well, it wasn't really his anyways, it was Jekyll's! Heh, the small things. "Alright, buddy, go on, don't you have some plants to tend to?"

Robbie let go, nodding his head. “Uh, huh.” He walked back over to the sink, turning off the faucet and grabbing his watering can. “Night…,” he said as he passed Hyde and headed back towards his room.

"Goodnight." He sighed once Robbie left the room, grabbing another cookie and striding over to the back door. He opened it quietly, sneaking up onto the overhang and leaning down over the lip of it. "Good evening, lovebirds!"

Rachel jumped, squeaking as she grabbed onto Jasper's furry arm.

Jasper had also jumped, his fur standing on end. "Oh, Mr. Hyde, it's just you!" He relaxed, looking up at the man. "How did you get here, sir?"

"Oh, you know! Hopping through things I'm not supposed to, sneaking around, the usual!" He grabbed onto the edge of the overhang and swung himself onto the porch, crossing his arms. "I was just about to head out for a night on the town when I saw you two out here! Care to explain?"

* * *

Jackie stood up, wiping his forehead with his hand. “I think that should do it.” He had been on a quick patrol when he found someone with a flat tire. He couldn’t just leave them there, especially when it was so late.

He turned to the person, who had been watching him replace the tire. “Do you need anything else?”

“No, thank you, you’ve done enough. Again, I can’t thank you enough,” they said, grabbing their keys.

Jackie absently waved his hand. “It’s nothing. I help people like this all the time. Have a good night!”

“You too!” They shut the door to the car, driving off.

Jackie stayed, making sure no one suspicious followed them before heading off on his own. “I should probably get back home. I need some sleep.”

A metallic, spherical object floated over to him, speaking in a calm female voice. “Jackie, I am picking up on an alarm that is going off a few blocks down. There appears to be a robbery.”

Jackie heaved a bit of a sigh. “What’s the address?”

The blue display screen showed a map of the area, pinpointing the place where the alarm was going off. “2 Argyle Rd, Brighton, BN1 4QB.” 

He adjusted his sleeves before climbing up to a higher area. “Thanks, Samantha.”

“Anytime!” With that, he took off on his trek.

* * *

Hyde sighed as Rachel and Jasper discussed how Mr. Hyde could've possibly gone through the portal without notice, were they always this boring?

** _To hell with this! I'm leaving._ **

"Well, while the married couple _ bickers, _ I'll head out. Feel free to let me know when you solve my little riddle!" Hyde leaped up and grabbed the rim of the overhang, pulling himself up and scaling the building. Free! Finally free!

He leapt from the rooftop, landing on another one nearby. This proved to be significantly more difficult, as these structures were not as closely packed as it was in his time.

"Now, where would a fine gentleman such as myself find a good drink?" 

“Ò̴̡h҉̢̀, I͏̕ t̨̛hi̡͜͞n̵͟k̵̨͢͠ I kn̨ǫ͢͠w̷ a͏͟͏͘ f̶̵̴͝e͜w̢̢͘͜ p̡͟l͡à́͟c̡̡e̸҉͢s̡̧~”

Hyde stopped in his tracks, turning to see a pale skinned man in a black short-sleeved shirt and black pants sitting on the edge of the roof, playing with something in his hands. He could hear the faint sound of electricity that just barely managed to brush his ears.

He felt his hair stand on end more than it usually would as he took note of the pointed ears and short, brown hair. Every so often, he seemed to twitch, the light bouncing off of something and shining a random shade of magenta, red, blue, green, or white.

"Do you now?" He walked over to the edge, plopping himself down next to the man.

"Perhaps you could escort me there, mister...?" He didn't finish his sentence, dropping a subtle hint that perhaps the man should share his name.

The figure giggled, continuing to tilt and twirl the knife in his hands. He glanced in Hyde’s direction. “S̷͡ơ̵̧, yơ̸̧u w̶̷̸͝an̢͞t̕͢ mý̨͠͝ n̢͜͞ą̶̧͠m͡e, h̸̢҉̀ưh̷͢͝͝? T̢há́̕̕t’ş̸͝͏ f̶͞u̷͏̴n҉̀̕...”

"You sure are an odd fellow, aren't you?" He leaned forward, attempting to get a look at the man's face. His skin, he now could tell, was a pale green. The next thing he noticed was the unmistakable scent of _ iron. _

A moonbeam caught on the… creature's neck, revealing a large slit that was oozing with fresh blood. 

"Oh. My. GOD! YOU HAVE A CUT IN YOUR THROAT! CAN I TOUCH IT? CAN I, CAN I, CAN I!?" He stuck out his hand, almost making contact with this strange man's throat before—

Without even looking, the man’s hand lurched forward like lightning. He held Hyde’s wrist in a death grip. His head twitched towards him, his eyes going dark like the night. He growled, baring his teeth. His voice buzzed like a swarm of angry hornets, “I̷̵̕͞ w̨o͏̸u̢l̨͝d҉n͏͠͏’t͘͏ to͟ų̸̷͏c̸̢͟͡h̡̛ t͡͏́ha̴̶͟t if̴̶̛.̸̛I we̴̸͜r̛͟͝͠e̸͢҉ yò̶͢͡u̵̧͟͢.” He squeezed Hyde’s wrist, pointing his knife in his face. “**_U͏̀n̵̶̴͢d̀͟ę̵̸͡ŗ̶s̀͟͠t̸an̶̶͜d̵͠_**?”

Hyde leaned back quickly, attempting to snake his wrist out of his grasp. "Oh! Uh, yes, absolutely!" Once his hand was returned to him, he rubbed the sore area, getting an odd feeling about the fellow but brushing it off.

** _Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…_ **

"So, about those pubs?" 

“O̶̶̢͘f̨́͞ c͟our҉̷͢͞s̕̕͝͠e̴͏̧̕~” He snapped his fingers, and the world suddenly distorted. There was that flash of strange colors again as Hyde looked around, both in awe and slight confusion. Where was the roof? Where had the man gone?

“A͝r҉͏e y͠o͘͏̢́u̡͞ ju̡̕͢s͝͝t́̀͢͞ g͘ơ̴͟n̢̢na͏̢ s̡͏̷t̵̢͜͢ą̶́͜nd t̷̴h̷̷͝er̢e o̵͠͡r̷̡ ͏̵̧͡do͡͏͢͝ yà̧͢ w̶͏̸́a̵̢͢͠nt̡̕͟ a̴͢͟ dr̴̢͞ì͜͝n͡͝k?”

Hyde whirled around, seeing the man leaning against a wall just next to the door of a pub. Strange. He almost looked normal now…

"Wh— how in the bloody hell did ya do that!?" He quickly looked around, realizing he was nowhere _ near _ where he started!

"Actually, fuck it, I've seen weirder. Let's get shit faced and start some fights!" Hyde threw open the door to the bar, walking in like he owned the place. He then realized that modern pubs were nothing like the ones in the olden days.

Loud, screechy, drum-heavy music flooded his ears, the dim, purple lighting disorienting him as thousands of bodies danced, shoved together like a can of sardines and reeking of vodka and beer.

He quickly turned around, showing himself out quietly and returning to the now normal looking man. "What was that!? That wasn't a pub, that was torture!" 

The figure laughed, his body twitching and distorting. “Bu̸̶͟͡t̴̨͠ I t̢̡͜ḩ̸̷ou͜g̴̵̢͡h҉̸͝͠t̡́̕͝ y̨͟͢ǫ́u _ w̡͘͢͡a͘nt̷̕͝e҉d _ t̛̕͜͏ǫ.̧̛̕g̕͏o̕҉ t͟ò a͞ b͢͝͝a̛͢r! Y̨͟͟͏ou͏ fa̵̛iled̨͝͞ t͠͡҉o̸̧̡ s̶̕͢͞p̧ȩ̴̀c̸̶̡i͟͡͞fy w̴̕͡h̶͢҉͜a̢̡t́͏͏ ̡́͢ķ̸i̴̡͞n͟d̴͘͜҉...”

Hyde growled, getting in the creature's face. "I shouldn't have to specify, dimwit! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you don't know who I am!" He crossed his arms, huffing.

“Ơ͏̶͝h, b̴̡̕u͝t̷ I͟͞ _ d̷̢́͠o̡ _ ķ̶̀͜ņ҉̢o̴w…Ȩ̸̡d̀͘͜w̷a̛rd͟͠͠͞ H̸̡͠yḑ҉é̵̢͜~” He purred, his lip curling in a mischievous sneer. He circled Hyde, colored particles trailing behind him. “I̛̛͡͞ k҉̵̧̛now y̧̛͝o̶͏ù͡’r̡̨e̡ n̷o̴f̴̴̷ f͟r̢͝͡ơm̴͞ ar̢͏o̡̕͠u̡͢͜ņ̸́͝d̕҉̶͟ hę̴͢r̵҉ȩ̢͠҉!” He stood in front of him, his eyes gleaming an eerie green.

Edward smirked, his mood changing on a dime. He bowed dramatically, looking up at him. "At your service~" He stood back up, throwing an arm around his new friend. "So, mind finally telling me your name since you know mine?" 

His form twitched again, essentially causing Hyde’s arm to fall off his shoulders. He flipped his knife in the air, thinking. “Y̢̛o͢҉͠҉u͟’re̢͏ m҉͏͜o҉̕͝ŗ̕͞è͝ rȩ͟s̸̢̡͟į͏l̛͜i͏͏͘an͘͠t̛̛́͞ th̶̕͞͝a̸̧͠n̷̛ Ì̡̛͡ t̨͏h͘͢͝ou̕͏ght̴̵̀͞.” He leered at Hyde, tossing and catching the weapon once more. He rapidly turned on his heel, holding out his hand. “**A̧̛͞nt̵̨̛͢i̵̡̧s͝ep̀t̷҉i̧͝c̶̢̨e̡̢ye̵̸͘͞**~”

Hyde shook the man's hand, his smirk breaking into a full on grin. "Pleasure to properly make your acquaintance, Mister Septic!" He threw his hands in the air, dramatically gesturing to all of England. "Why don't we bloody go somewhere a bit quieter!" 

“W̢͡hich͝҉ k̶̴̕͝i̡̕ǹ̛̕͠d̷̕ o̧͏̶f͜ q̢͏ui͘è̢t̵́͢͡? Qu̡ie̵͘̕t̢́͟—” Anti snapped his fingers, moving them to a random rooftop—“ó҉r͜ **q̶u̡ì̧͜͡e͏̛͟͝t̷**?” The world around them began to melt into an endless darkness, making it so only the green of his irises were visible.

"I was perhaps thinking more of a… quaint little bar, maybe a few people, but enough to make a proper _ scene, _if you know what I mean." He looked around the pitch black, a familiar comfort washing over him. Ah, it was just like home~

"Then, maybe, we could investigate the cruel wonders of the modern world!"

“S͢ay̡̨͘͢ n҉̴͝o m͢o̶̡͟͠r̵͘e͘.” The world reversed the melt, only this time ending up in front of a smaller pub.

Hyde clapped his hands together, rubbing them fiercely. "Perfect! Now, let's go cause some chaos!" This time, his confidence didn't leave him. Chaos was soon to come indeed…

Anti stood in the corner of the pub, watching as Hyde downed glass after glass of fermented plants. He fiddled with his knife, not having to worry about being seen. Hyde was the only one who could see him… until he said otherwise.

He glanced at the door, noticing someone walk in. They did not look happy. “Pȩ̴̧͟rf҉͟͢e̷̛͜c̕t̷̵̢̨…”

Hyde also noticed the man, watching him as he took a swig from his pint. Said grump was on a collision course with a woman who was clearly the only sober one, who was busy helping her friend to the restroom.

The woman bumped into the man by pure accident. "Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry sir! I just—!"

The man shoved her to the ground, along with the friend who was clinging onto her as if she were a lifeline. "Don't let it happen again, _ pipsqueak." _

Hyde growled at the sudden assault, slamming his drink down onto the counter. "Oi, dickhead! Who're ya callin pipsqueak!?" He stormed over to the man who was a foot taller, buff, and covered in tattoos.

"Buzz off, goblin, it's none of ya business."

"Well, sir, I believe it is!" He cracked his knuckles, getting into a fighting stance. "And I do think that some punishment is in order."

Hyde lunged at the man, slugging him in the face and grabbing onto his neck, swinging himself onto the man's back. He threw a few more blows to the back of his skull before he had to leap off. 

"Oooh, that's it, you're DONE FOR!" The man grabbed Hyde by his cape, throwing him against the wall and brushing himself off. "Don't pick fights with big guys, dumbass." He turned around, beginning to head over to the bar, when Hyde lifted himself and brushed off the drywall.

"I just got this cleaned, too!" He ran over behind the bar, grabbing a full bottle of vodka and slamming it against the man's head, sending him to the ground. He leapt onto the counter, standing triumphantly. He unscrewed the cap, taking a gulp before looking at the small crowd they had gathered.

"Well, does anyone else want a taste of the spirit of London at night!?"

_ Hyde, what the hell are you doing! _

Anti watched the ensuing fight scene, grinning at the chaos. In another corner of the bar, he noticed someone trying to hide in their chair. He smirked. 

He turned his attention back to Hyde, watching him jump up on the bar. Wait...what was that voice?

Hyde smiled as he watched the people tremble, quickly going back to whatever they were doing before the fight occurred. Hyde began to walk over to where Anti was sitting. He was still holding the now bloody vodka bottle. He took another swig. "What I'm _ doing, _is having a good night out! You made a promise, don't forget that~"

_ I'm not forgetting the promise I made, though I am starting to regret it… anywho, I'm making reference to the—! _Jekyll walked in Hyde's shadow, wisps of black flowing off of him.

"Yeah, yeah, the fight, I know! Look, it was a good thing or whatever! Some dude was being an ass, so I stopped him!" He shrugged, sitting down across from Anti. "So, Mister Septic, how'd you like my little show?"

_ Don't you ignore me! Damn you, Hyde! _

Anti clapped his hands. “M̧̀̀͜a͟͞҉r̀͡͠v̴̡̧͞ȩ̷́͢l̡ous̨͞͞! À̕bsó͏̧́l͢ư͠͡tl̀͝͠e̛y̶̡ br͠ư̢͜͞t̨͘͟͠a̕͢҉̧l̡̢͡.” He looked down at the bloody bottle, giggling. “I ş̶͡e͜e y̢̕͢ou̴̷͘͝’v̵̀͟͡ę̕͢͡ cl̵̛͡ai͘m̴̴̛e͏̨͘d͟ a p҉r͞͡͞͡iz͝ȩ́. S̕͟͞͝o̷̸̵̢, w̕͠͏͝ḩ͘͢͡o̷̧̢̧’s̢͟ ý̧͜è̷̢͏r f̸̧͞r̕̕i҉͟҉ȩ̶̀͡nḑ?” He smirked, just barely showing off his canines.

Jekyll and Hyde both froze, Hyde staring Anti in the eyes before attempting to play it off. "Friend? What friend? You're the only one here, Mister Septic!"

_ Hyde, if he can see me… _

** _I know, we're gonna be fucked, just shut up and let me talk!_ **

_ You're gonna make it worse! _

** _No I won't, shut it!_ **

"Speaking of friends, care for a drink?" He slid his trophy over to Anti, a trail of blood following it.

_ Getting him drunk is your master plan? Really? _

** _That's not all of it, give me some damn time!_ **

Anti chuckled, pushing the bottle out of his way as he laid his arms on the table. “I̸̛͠’m̶͟ a҉f̧͏͡r̴͢á̸͞͠i̸d I̵̧͟ d͡͞on̨’t́ a̕͟c͜cep͜͞t dr̀́͟͡i̶ń̸k̶̀͟ś fr̡͘om̀͘͝ **l̵i̕͏͜͡ar̷̵̕s̴̴̛**, M̶̕̕͢r. Ḩyd̴͠͝͡è̴~”

"Why would I lie, Mister Septic?" He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands.

_ Hyde, you're pushing it, just run! _

** _The man can teleport, Jekyll! I don't think he's the type of person we can run from…_ **

_ Then at least ask to go somewhere else! We can't have these random people knowing our secret! _

** _I know, dumbshit, I'm just trying to butter him up! Y'know, buddy buddy then leave!_ **

_ And how has that been working out for you? _

“B̀́ȩ̵̧c̀͢a͠͠u̴͟͡s̢̨e̕͞ y̵̢o̷u̢͞’r͜e҉͏ a͏̸͝f̷r͡a̕͟͏̡id̴. P͘e̸̡ò̡p̡͢ĺ̸̷̕e҉́ a̶͘lẃ̵̡a̡͏҉y̴s lie̡̕҉͠ w̴̶͢͠h̡́ę̀͝n͠͏ th̢ȩ̛y̶̡̧ a̡͘r̢͡e à̧͠f̡̡̛͘ra͠ì̛d̶̨̕͟.” He giggled. “Pe̶̡r̸̴h̵̢́á̷p̢͠҉͟s w̴͘e̵̴̸͟ s̴̸͘h̶̕͞òul̡͜d̸̡͟͡ g̵o͏ s҉̀́͠o͝m̢e̴w͏̀hè͏r̵͟͝e̡ m̸͏̧o̴͟͠͝r̕e p͘͟r̡iv̴̡̢at̛̛é͟.” Their surroundings jolted, no longer showing a clean table, customers, or alcohol, but instead an empty alleyway. “I̶̧͘̕s̴̡̢͜ t͟͏̶͝h̶̡́i̧̕͢͜ş͟͞͝ t̨o yo҉͢ur l͢͟͟i̕k̶҉i͡ń̷̡g̸?”

Oh god. Oh no. This was bad, this was very _ very _bad.

** _I think he can hear us in the mindscape… well, we're screwed! We had a damn good run, I'll see you in hell, Jekyll!_ **

_ No, no, no! There has to be another way out of this, just… just tell him the truth! _

** _Welp, it can't get worse, I guess._ **

"Okay, so, I can explain!"

He smirked, leaning against the wall, and crossing his arms. “Í̶̶͞’m̷ s̷͞҉u͢ŕ̨̨̕e y̨͝͏̶o҉̴͠u͏ ç̸͘͠a͡҉n͏́͟...b̴̧u̷̢͡ţ̵҉͠ w̴̡̛hy no̴͘t _ b̡͢͡ot͢h̶̢ _ o̶̕͟f̵̶͜͢ y̛͡͞ou͏͜?” He watched the shadow move on the ground, seeing the obvious differences in movement and shape.

Jekyll sighed, fully manifesting in bright red form, hints of orange and yellow coming off of him like a flame taken human shape.

"Well, go on then, you know more about this than I do!" Hyde rubbed his face, groaning. This was supposed to be _ his _night out, and now it's ruined! Damn it.

_ Right. Uh, good evening, I'm Dr. Henry Jekyll, and you have most certainly met Mr. Edward Hyde. Um, as you can see, we're not exactly human, per say… See, I had a theory back in '84! _ Jekyll began to pace, speaking with his hands

_ Now, if the human mind is made up of good and evil, two sides constantly at battle with one another—evil often winning—then we should be able to split them apart, yes? _He looked over at Anti, beginning to speak before he could give an answer.

_ That's where I intended to head with the experiment! However, I had no test subjects, so I used myself as the object for the experiments. I made the formula I had planned so meticulously, and downed it. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the _ best _ idea, but I was young and dumb… _

Jekyll stopped, gesturing towards Hyde who was now sitting on the ground. _ That's when he was formed. Hyde is my evil half, and I am the good. I let him out to roam London each night, and I get the daytime. _

"Yeah, but then you try and keep me locked up for two weeks for just setting a block on fire!" He huffed, glaring

_ Do you know how much damage that caused the society!? _ Jekyll's lines began to grow fuzzy, his slight fire-esque appearance becoming even more apparent. _ You set us back weeks! No, you set us back _MONTHS!

"Watch it old timer, don't wanna blow a fuse now, do we?" 

Anti perked up. “F̴̴͢͡i͏r͡e̢͝…” He laughed. “I͏̵͝sn̶̢͟͢’t t͘͢h̢͡͡͠a̸͜t i̷̕n̶̢̢t̸e͢r͏̢͟͟e҉͘ś͢ti̛n̶҉g! A̧͠ĺ̷́so̧͘, h̡̛é̡͟h̵̵̀͘, ş͝͡p̴͘ĺ̷̡i̷̢̢͘t̴̢͝͞t̷͘҉̧i̴̛͜͞n̵g͡ th͠e͏̵̛҉ h́u͡ma̛͝҉͏n s̷̷̢̛ǫ̀̕͟u̢͜͏͞l. Th͢͢àt̴’ş̶͟͝ c͏̷ę̶̡r͞t̶̴͏̕ai̶̶͘n̸̷l҉̡̕ỳ̴..._d̢̧i̵f̨͜f͝er̴e̶̢n̵̕t̷͝ _ t́̕͞h̵a͞n҉͏ ẁhat̶̨̛ I̸͢ t̨hou̴͜g̀͞h̶͝t̡̧͝ i͏̶t͜ w̷̕o͡͠ul̡̛d̕ d̴o̡…”

He turned back to Hyde. “H̵̛̀͟ow̨͘͟͢’d̡͢͠ ỳ̵͜a͢ d̢͞͡o̶̢ í̕͜͞t?”

Hyde looked up at Anti, sitting much like a cat would. "Well, we have a serum that we use, but it's back where we're staying."

Jekyll recomposed himself, returning to looking humanoid. _ Yes, it's back in the workroom! I do believe he had a window in there, so we can still get in… _

He frowned. “I҉̢͟ w̷̨̡a͏͢s r̸͡ef̛̕̕͞e̢͜ŗ̸r̢҉͠i̶ņ̶̷́g͏͟͞͝ t̛̛̕͟ò̶̧̡ t̵̢̧͜he̶͏̨̀ f̢iŕ̨͘e.” He gestured with his arms. “W̶͝h̸̵͠a̢͢t̀͏͞ ẁ̸̴a̴͡s i̢̨͢͜t li͜͞ķ́͢͟e̛͝?” His eyes shone as he imagined the destruction.

"Ah! My mistake. You see, I was simply saving the Society from the evil grasp of one Dr. Moreau! He had Frankenstine's creature cornered, so I swooped in and stabbed Moreau right in the chest with hell's umbrella!" He stood, gesturing wildly as if to emphasize the story.

"Then, I took a number from the gang leader of the 40 Elephants, Lucy! I leapt up towards the heavens, kicking down a rotten support beam onto the mad scientist!" He jumped for dramatic effect.

"But then, as one last bit of revenge, he used his flamethrower to light some stray gasoline, setting off an explosion!"

_ That is not what happened and we both know it. _

"Oh, shut it! That's totally what happened!"

_ You can keep telling yourself that lie, see how far it goes. _

Anti leaned his body forward. “Ḩ̷o͞w̢̧͢͝ d͢i͏d͘ i҉̀t f̧͞e͠é̸l̸̶͟͏?”

Hyde sat back down, tilting his head as he held a finger to his chin. "Well, I suppose it felt hot? Very very hot, as most fires usually are…"

“N̷̨o, no̴̧͠.” He waved his knife in the air. “Ho̶̶̵͘w̶ d́į̵̶̨d̶̛̕͘ it _ fé͘͢e̶̡̕ļ̨͞͡ _ ? A͜͠͠f̀҉̷̡t͝͠e̵͠͞r͢a̶̵͘͠l̛l̴̸͢͝, b͏l̴ų̸͏͞n̢҉̧͟t̴̛̛͝ o̢͝b̵͜͡͡j̕ȩ͠c̴͟͠t̢s̢̢͜͞ do̷͢͝n҉̷̨҉’t͏ m̧ak͏҉́͝e͏͘ t̷̨h҉͘e—” he gave a short laugh—“ _ c̡̨͡ĺean҉̧e͏st̴͞͝ _ o̷f͏͢͞͠ p̡ų̸̀͡nḉ̸͢ţ̶u̶͘r͏̸ęs̶̢͏.”

Hyde jumped with realization, smirking. "You know how it feels to press a balloon until it pops under your hand?" He punched the palm of his hand as if to give an example. "It was like that!"

_ You two horrify me. _

"Oh, shut it, goody two shoes!"

He giggled. “Ab̕͝sò̸̡͢lu͏t̴̕èl̛̀̀y̷̨̨҉ w͘ớ̶ǹ̵̵̢ḑ͢͡e̢̨̧͝r̶̀͜͞f̵̡̨͡úl̢. I ç̶͜a̕n o̷̢̨͞n͏͟ly͝ _ į҉̡m͜a͜g͡i̧͟͠ǹ̢͝͞ȩ̀͞͡ _ th̛̕͠e l̷̨̀͡oo͘k͞ ḩ̴̀͢ę̸̨̀ had̨͟͞.” His fingers twitched, curling a little tighter on the hilt of his knife. “S̶̨͟o̡̧, w̸̴̕h̵e̶̛͠re͜ t͘o̢ n̶ǫ̵͞w̷̢? P̡͢er̨͜͢h҉̷̕͟a̶̵͝p̶͡s̶̵̀͜ I҉ c̀͢o̢͢͟͞u̡̨ld̸͞ s͞h̵̨o͡w̸̶ you so҉m͝e̶͢͜th̴̡͡͝i̷̸̛͡n͡g o̕f̴ my̴͢͟͡ o̷w̴̴̵n͡.”

Hyde stood up, holding his feet apart and pointing at the sky. "The night is still young! We've only started one fight, and there are plenty of other pubs!" He clapped Anti on the back, crouching down like a spring. 

"We are the spirits of London at night!" He leapt towards the wall, leaping against the other one, beginning to wall jump towards the roofs.

_ I'm going back to rest, just get back at 6! _

"You're not the boss of me!" 

He adjusted the hold on his knife, glitching up to the nearest rooftop before Hyde could. “I̡̛͝ l͘͜͡͞ò̴̸̢v̀͘͘͡e̴ t͢ḩ̢ȩ̷́ w̡̢͞a̷̛y y̵o̕͟͡u̴ t̷̡̡͘ḩ̶̧͢ink͝!”

"Lead the way, Mister Septic!" He braced himself for the possible teleportation that was about to come.

Anti snapped his fingers again, teleporting them to another roof. He peered down through the skylights, watching the bar-goers. He grinned. The poor souls had no idea they were there. “Yò̶͢͡ų̛ s̴e̴̴͏ȩ̧m̸͝ tơ̧͏̸ b͞͠ȩ̢̢͘ t҉̸̢ḩ̴͡͡e m̴̧͠an̸̢͏̵ ẃi̶̸̢th a͏͢҉̨ p̶̨͜͞la҉҉̵ǹ̷̕͝, w̴hą̴͢͞ţ͜͡ ne͘͟͏x́͝t?” His fingers flexed over the hilt of his knife as he anticipated Hyde’s response.

"How about we make a bigger fight this time? You could get in on the action~" Hyde peered down the bar-goers, counting at least 20. Perfect! Not too big, not too small! Prime brawl size. "Whaddya say? Wanna bust some bones?" 

He flipped his knife into the air a few times, silent. A toothy grin slunk across his face, and he twirled the knife, eyes gleaming. “L̴̡̀e҉̢̀t͏̕ 's̨̛ br̡͜͞e̵͟ą̵͢͠k t̀͟͞͠hos̨ę͢͠ f̷ò̵͜o͜l̢̢͘͜s̡͟. T̀́͟h̡̡e̸҉͢y̡̧ w̷͡ơ̵̧n’t f̸̶̢or̶̷̸͝ge̢͞t̕͢ whǫ́͠͝ w̢͜͞ę̶̧͠ a͡re.” He’d make sure of it~

"Sounds good to me!" He began to scale down building, walking in through the door. "Well, well, well! What have we here?" He took another scan of the bar now that he was on the floor level, making note of the bottles of alcohol, chairs, and loosely screwed in tables. Perfect.

"Now, how should we start this little scuffle, Mister Septic?" 

Anti, after seamlessly jumping down from the roof, stood from his crouched position. “W̡̧̨̢h̢͏̷̕y̸̢҉̀ n̛o̷͢͝͝t̢ jú́̕̕sţ̸͝͏ pì͟͠c̴k on̵̶̴͢e͏͠͏? T̢h̨͝erè a͟r̸̷̨͏e̸̢͟͡ p̡̛l͡͏́e҉nt̴̶̛y̸̛ o͜f pu̴̸͜p̛͟͝͠p̸͢҉et̶̀͢͡ś̸̛ t͏̀ó̷̴ c̀͟h̵̸̨͡o̶̧os̸e͘͡͡͏ f̶̶͜r̵͠o͘m͟, af̢͢t̷́͡e̴r҉a̵̧͟͢ll!” He waved his knife out in front of him, gesturing to the crowd. He did scan the room however, finding a gangly young man off to the side. Aww…he was all alone. He couldn’t have that now, could he?

"True, true… how about that big beast of a man over there?" He pointed to a large, bearded, leather jacket wearing man, who had been taking shots of vodka. "Whaddya say? Wanna poke the bear?"

For a moment, Anti ran his finger along the blade of his knife. “H̴͏̧̕o͝w҉͏ lit̵̀ţ̀e͠͞r͘͏̢́a̡͞ļ̴l̡͡y͟҉ w̨͢o̷͝ul̡̕͢d͝͝ ý̀͢͞o͘ư̴͟ l̢̢ik͏̢e̡͏̷ m̵̢͜͢ę̶́͜ to t̷̴a̧̕k̢é̷ t̷̷͝ha͏̵̧͡t q͡͏͢͝uȩ̀͢s̶͏̸́t̵̢͢͠io̡̕͟n̴͢͟, Mr̴̢͞. H̀͜͝y͡͝de?” He giggled under his breath, his hands glitching ever so slightly.

"Not too literally, just hit him where it hurts, maybe punch his stomach? Blame it on another person? That would start a real battle!" He smirked, walking up to the fellow and sitting down on the stool next to him.

"A bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, please!" He smiled as the bottle was slid to him, popping off the cap and taking a swig.

Anti scoffed, rolling his eyes and mumbling, “Tḩa̷̛͢t’s n̢̡͜o̸̷̧ fu͜n̴̵̢͡.” He rolled his shoulders, any digital traces leaving his body. If Hyde didn’t know any better, he’d look like your average mortal. He strolled up to the bar, sitting next to him. “Bloody Mary.” While the static was gone from his voice, it still contained a gravelly, tonal change.

He grumbled under his breath. "Of course you would get a bloody Mary." He took another large gulp of the whiskey, getting it down to half of its original content before looking over at Anti.

"I do believe it's showtime, wouldn't you agree?" He grabbed the shot glass, slamming it over the man's head and quietly slipping away as the man rubbed his head and glared at the small teenager who snuck in that was sitting next to him.

Anti snickered, watching the exchange. He wiggled his fingers, the knife disappearing into his void. ‘_L҉̸͝͠á̡̕͝t̨͟͢ę́r m̡͘͢͡y͘ be̷̕͝a҉ut̛̕͜͏y̨_~,’ he thought as he proceeded to push the man on his other side out of the stool.

Hyde seemingly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the whiskey bottle and slamming it down where the shattered glass remained in the man's head, pushing the shards further in as he laughed maniacally.

He watched as Anti pushed another patron over, the resulting domino effect being the prime example of human nature. Time seemed to slow as one body slammed into another, faces being punched and people being shoved. It was _ beautiful_.

People shouted in terror. Most people who did not wish to join the chaos only added to it as they madly scrambled for the door. Anti giggled, the twitch returning ever so slightly as he watched Hyde push the glass into the man’s head; rivlets of blood began to gush out of the wound. As he continued to scan the crowd he tripped some of the people who were running. He noticed others shaking like leaves, too afraid to move. Then, he spotted someone cowering under a table. He strolled over to him, peeking under the table. “Ţ̛̕h̕͏e̕҉r͟è y͞o͏͘͟҉ứ̸ ar͢͝͝e̛͢~”

Hyde smiled as he weaved through the people in the crowd, landing hits left and right as he attempted to get outside of the cloud of fists and feet, hoping to throw some damage from above. He was too caught up in the energy of it all to notice Anti beginning to prey on an innocent bystander.

He leapt off the bar, pile driving into an average looking female and starting to send some blows down on others. He was free, and he was in his element!

Eventually, however, he got somewhat bored of the scuffle, deciding to vanish from the battle and sit outside with his whiskey, chugging down the rest of the bottle in 30 seconds flat. ** _Huh, where's that Anti fellow?_ **

“Wh̨͟͟͏at͏ dơ̵ you m̨͝͞e͠͡҉a̸̧̡n̶̕͢͞?” Anti asked, materializing behind Hyde and looming over his shoulder. 

"OH JESUS CHRIST ON A FUCKING BICYCLE!" He stopped himself from whirling around and slamming Anti's head in, panting from the startle. "Give a man some warnin', will ya!?" He took a moment to regain himself before pressing into him. "So, what took ya so long?" 

He laughed at Hyde’s expense, the glitches returning full force. “J̧ù̴̧s̸̶̡t͟͡͞ hav̴̕͡í͏͏ń̡͢ģ̸ a̴̡͞ go̸̧ò̸d̛͏̶͝ ti̴̡̕m͝e̷, s͟͞á̷̢͠m̡ȩ̶̀͜ a̧҉̢s̴ yo̸̧̡ù͘͜.” There were a few bloodstains on his clothes, face, and hands. “Ẁ̴͘h͏̸̛҉at͟͠͠͞ a̸̡͠bo̧҉ú̵̢͜t̛̛͡͞ yơ̧͝u̶͏?”

"Got bored, usually fights are much better than that!" He shook the bottle over his mouth, sighing when there was nothing left. He tossed the bottle into a nearby alley, smirking at the shattering noise it made. "So, you wanted to show me a place?"

He snapped his fingers. “Ì͡ a̡̨l̡m̷o̴s̴̴̷t̴ f́͟o͟r̢͝͡g̛o̴͞t. H̡̕͠o̡͢͜ẃ̸̧͝ s̕҉̶͟il̴̨͢l̵҉y̧̢͠҉ of m̷̸e̢̛!” The two of them warped to a nearly open field with only a few trees and bushes scattered around. The wind rustled through the grass, the light of the moon making the blades appear like waves on an ocean. It was calm, serene.

Anti kicked something long and white, sending it through the air and disturbing the peace with the following _ crack _ as it struck a rock.

"W-What was that?" Hyde followed the item to where it had cracked, seeing a long shin bone sitting in front of him. He jumped, scrambling backwards as he realized that there were so many more. Skulls, teeth, spines, and more lined the clearing, sending shivers down his spine.

** _JEKYLL!?_ **

_ What! What is it, Hy—oh dear _ lord _ ! _

Jekyll took a look of his own in the clearing, manifesting next to Hyde with a look of horror on his features. _ What is this place? _

Anti strode up to the two of them, draping his arm over Hyde’s shoulders. “R̢͏e҉͏͜ļ̴͟͠a҉̕͝x̧̕͞ m̸̷̢̨ý̶͟ c̷͏̸ha͞҉̛ơ̵̷t̨̕i͡҉̀͡c fŗ͟i̸̢̡͟e͘͟n̨̛̛҉ḑ͜҉! T̨̢̛́h́į͏n͏͏͘k o͘͠f̛̛́͞ it̶̕͞͝ a̸̧͠s̷̛ à̡̛͡ g̀̕r̨͏a͘͢͝ve̴yar̴̵̀͞d͠͡ ơ̧͞f s̵̨̛͢o̵̡̧r͝ts̀!”

Jekyll laughed nervously, stepping away slightly. _ Yes! Yes, a graveyard! I mean, it rains a lot in Britain, and coffins are only made of pinewood! They don't last forever! The dirt must have gotten… gotten washed away! Yes! _

"I-I'm not too sure about that..." Hyde looked around the clearing, his eyes falling on a bone caked in blood and muscle. ** _This cannot be an old graveyard…_ **

“C̷҉o̧͝m̶̢̨e̡̢ no̵̸͘͞w̢͡, Mr̕͢͜͝. H҉̴͢͝y͞d̴̡́͢ę̷́́! Wh͝҉y̶̴̕͝ w̡̕ờ̕͠u͟ld̷̕ņ͏̶’t͜ y̢͏ou͘ b̢̀é̵͢͡l̨͝i̧̛̕͏e͏̶́͠vę̴̸͜ m̡e? Aft̢́͟é҉r͜ a̸͞ll̴̶͝, w̵͠e̡’re̸̶͜͜ o̶n̨e i̡ņ̀͜͡ t͏̛͟͝h̷é̷͝ s͢am̡̨͘͢e҉̴͝, ar͢e̶̡͟͠ w҉̛͝͠e͘ n̵͘oţ̴̧͟?” He snapped his fingers, sending them to an alleyway. “Ş͏̷͡e҉͟͢e̷̛͜? N̕o̷̵̢̨ m̧̀̀͜o͟͞҉r̀͡͠e̴̡̧͞ b͠oņ̷́͢e̴͟͜s.” His mouth twitched ever so slightly into a toothy grin.

Hyde smiled, attempting to look less shaken up than he actually was. "Good! Good… uh..." He looked over at Jekyll, who looked over at him. "It looks like it's starting to get a little late! I believe I should head home. Y'know, me and Jekyll share a body after all!" He was sweating bullets, attempting to look less suspicious.

"It was nice meeting you, Mister Septic!" He took off, wall jumping up onto the roofs and finding his way back to the house.

_ What the hell was that!? _

** _I dunno, you're asking the wrong person! We just have to sleep it off! Think about it and then go from there!_ **

Anti stood back and watched.

Hyde leapt from roof to roof, determined to get back to the house before something stopped him. A loud ringing noise pierced the cold London air, causing him to look over and see a building with bright yellow light coming out of it.

_ Hyde, no, we need to get home. _

** _Home can wait! _ **He changed his direction, making his way over to the roof of a nearby building and spotting someone that was clad in a red, almost orange suit. "Who're you?" 

Jackie jumped, turning around as his fists glowed a green-blue color. “What the...Dude, I don’t know who you are but it’s _ really _ not safe for you to be up here.” He lowered his fists. “Wait, how did you even get up here?”

"I jumped over here! It's really not that hard. Anyways, the name's Edward Hyde! Pleasure to meet ya!" He bent over and held out his hand, inviting the other to take it. "Now, I'll ask this one more time, who're you?" 

He maneuvered his hand to receive the handshake only to draw it back. He shook his head. “I’m JackieBoyMan, and I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time for this. I have a job to do. See ya around!” He jumped down from the building, landing in the alleyway next to the shop. 

Hyde groaned, people always ran from him! He scaled down the building, hopping down the last little bit and walking up next to Jackie. "So, what's the deal? Murder? Stabbing? Armed robbery!?"

Jackie sighed. “Seriously, my job is dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt. Granted, you’ve got some mad parkour skills, but I don’t think it’s best for you to get involved with criminals.” He turned away from him calling, “Hey, Samantha.” 

The droid floated over to him. “Yes, Jackie?”

“See if you can pick up any evidence; any sort of clue that may lead us to who did this.” The round bot promptly flew through the hole that was made in the glass, leaving Jackie to examine the exterior.

"Good _ lord, _ you 2019 people are so _ boring!" _He leapt through the broken window, excited to find—! Nothing. There was nothing. "Come on, are you kidding!? I wanted to punch some teeth in!"

Jackie whipped around, pulling Hyde out of the building. “Dude! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You can’t go in there, you’ll mess with the crime scene!”

"And _ you'll _never get anything done!" He crossed his arms, looking around in the alleyway. "Is that how those fuckers got away? If it is, I could probably track em down, you don't exactly break through a window and walk away unscathed." He pointed down at the small trail of blood, leading out of the alley and down the street.

Jackie looked down, finally noticing the trail himself. “Huh. Nice find there.”

Samantha flew out of the broken window. “Jackie. It appears I have found something that the robbers may have left behind.” An image displayed on her screen, showing a ring of some sort. It had a fancy logo, containing an M with crossbones behind it.

Jackie narrowed his eyes. “Ugh, of _ course _ it was Murphy.”

"Well, this Murphy fellow doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier…" He took off, following the trail of blood. It lead down another dark alley, but this one wasn't a dead end. He followed it through, finding an old, abandoned warehouse.

"Welp, would ya look at that! I might as well be Sherlock himself!".

Jackie followed him around the corner only to stop. “No, wait don—!”

Hyde stepped into the building before feeling himself being yanked back by his cloak. He fell to the ground, landing on his arse. He watched as the floor in front of him produced a net that flew up towards the ceiling.

"Huh… welp! Hindsight is 20/20!"

Jackie helped him to his feet. “See? You can’t just go running off. You don’t know Murphy and his gang like I do. They are _ not _ stupid. In fact, I can guarantee they left that ring there on purpose.” He looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Samantha, check the security footage if you can. In the meantime, I’ve gotta figure a way to throw them for a loop.”

"Hey! I was following a trail that you, apparently, weren't competent enough to find in the first place!" He stood up, dusting himself off and going back towards the entrance of the building, not entering though, just looking.

“While I thank you for the observation, I told you, they’re too smart for obvious shit like that.” He gestured with his arms towards the warehouse. “Did I not just save your sorry ass from a trap?”

"And did I not just save your reputation from being tainted by not catching some of the clumsiest dolts ever?" He followed the rope that held the trap up, seeing it was attached to a rudimentary brick and pulley system. "Looks can be deceiving, mister crayon~"

“Well, I suppose that’s true, and who are you calling a crayon, Mr. Fancy?”

Before the two of them could squabble anymore, Samantha came back, showing off the security footage. Checking footage was a relatively new feature Jackie had added to her programming, so hopefully, Murphy wouldn’t be expecting it.

The room was dark before a floor tile was removed from under the floor and one after the other, several men in different masks came up through the hole. The footage continued to show them taking multiple items off of shelves. However, their main priority seemed to be something in a glass case. The item in question was some sort of large emerald. They did their best to remove the object until someone tripped, setting off the alarm.

The man in question was promptly smacked on the back of the head. “You bloody dolt! We gotta get out of here! Take what you can! It’s back to Greens!” The man who had smacked the other yelled to the others in a gruff voice before turning around and promptly shooting the camera.

Jackie smirked as he watched that last bit. “Murphy, you may be smart, but you’ve always been a steal first, take out security later kind of guy.” He placed his hand on his chin. “Greens...I wonder what he meant by that. It’s gotta be a code of some kind; something to help remember a location.”

"Well, if they're not here, but the blood trail led us here, then that means that they must have something in this warehouse that helped them patch up whoever broke the window!" Hyde cautiously walked back into the warehouse, taking a quick scan of the place before following the trail once more.

He noticed there was no blood on the ropes of the trap, so that meant they set the trap before they left… Maybe they had some semblance of intelligence, then. But having a trap implies that you have something to hide! (Pun not intended.)

"So, do ya think these guys are dumb enough to set a trap that protects nothing?"

“Hm?” Jackie turned around, following him into the warehouse. “You have a point there, actually. They have been known to set traps just to help gain distance from the authorities, but they looked like they were in a hurry for this one.” 

He glanced around the warehouse, spotting something shining against the wall. He walked over to it and bent down. “Samantha, could you magnify this for me?” Once he got a closer look, it appeared to be a coin of some sort. Written around the edge was part of an address, most of it was illegible, except the street name: Greensboro Blvd.

“Got em.”

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Lead the way, Jackie!" Hyde may have known England like the back of his hand, but there was a large difference between the England he knew and the one he was in now.

Jackie ran out of the warehouse with Hyde trailing close behind. He jumped onto the curb and hopped his way up to the roof. He quickly checked the street sign and looked over the ledge. He walked back to the middle of the roof before taking a running leap to the next one. He was half right when he told Rachel he ran for a living, because he could do so much more.

"Finally! Someone who actually uses their body!" Hyde said from Jackie's side, easily matching his pace. "I'm assuming you do this often?" 

“Of course!” He jumped down from the ledge, landing a shoulder roll on the ground below, as the next roof was too far to jump. “It’s you I’m surprised about! This is my job, and you’re keeping up with me!” He wall-jumped back up to another roof, thankfully this part of the neighborhood being much closer together. 

Samantha zipped over to Jackie’s shoulder. “It seems there is a new text message on your phone.” 

Jackie slowed down, watching Hyde rush ahead as he pulled out his phone.

"Remember, Jackie! Looks can be deceiving! I do this every night! Riding around in a carriage is just too boring! Not enough _ interaction _ if you ask me!" Hyde watched the street signs, seeing the word Greens quickly approaching. "I do believe we're here!" 

  
  


Jackie stood still, his phone in his hands as he muttered under his breath, “I told her, I told her, I told her…”

Hyde peeked over Jackie's shoulder, catching the words "_How is my favorite niece? _" before the phone was turned off, seeing himself in the reflection of the inky blackness being glared at by a very pissed Jackieboyman.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

"A little eavesdropping, but don't you worry your pretty little head! I can keep my mouth shut better than most British can!" He patted Jackie on the head. "Let's just say I have a fairly big secret of my own, which you may find out in due time~"

He thanked god that Jekyll wasn't awake; he would have torn him a new one for that. 

He tried to smack Hyde’s hand away, still fuming. He felt the buzz of his phone and looked down to see the reply, “_Sorry! I thought I was messaging your sister! How’s my favorite nephew anyway?"_

He gave a small sigh of relief before turning back to Hyde. “This is not your business, and it _ especially _ is not your friends’. I don’t want to hear a word about it from you. It’s my decision to tell people and mine alone, _ understand_?” He loomed over the smaller man a bit, understandably angry.

"Like I said, I would never! Trust me when I say that I'm not exactly what most would consider an upstanding member of society! And if ya ask me, I'd tell ya that I don't necessarily discriminate when it comes to who I get down and dirty with, if ya know what I mean!" He gently jabbed Jackie with his elbow, clearly not reading the situation.

"Anywho, I won't tell anyone, my lips are sealed!" He made the gesture of zipping his mouth, locking it, and throwing away the key. He clapped his hands together, rubbing them like some sort of friction gremlin. "So! Back to the task at hand! I think we should go in guns blazing! What do you think?"

Jackie let out another sigh for multiple reasons. “No. That’s incredibly reckless, as ironic as that can be coming from me. No, there’s gotta be a better way.” He took a running start, back to leaping over rooftops. They were almost there, and the wind rushing through his hair always helped him think. “We gotta find the building first of all! Just ‘cause we found the street doesn’t mean we’ve found them!”

"True, but still, how many men were on the security footage? 4? Maybe 5? Easy! That's a normal Tuesday night!" He ran next to Jackie, excited for one final brawl of the night. "Come on! You know you wanna! Let out some of that anger inside you!"

Jackie thought about this for a second. He was never the kind of person to take his anger out on others, but this _ was _ Murphy. He smirked, rolling his eyes. “Fine, have it your way. Samantha, scan some of the buildings, see if there’s some kind of hint as to it being Murphy’s base!”

The bot quickly scanned the street, finding a large warehouse with crossbones near it. “Jackpot!”

"Now that's the spirit!" Hyde turned, heading over to the warehouse and hopping down with Jackie at his side. "Would you like to do the honors, sir?" He gestured to the door, imploring him to kick it down.

With one swift green-blue kick, the doors popped open. “Alright, Murphy! The jig is up!”

"Ah, finally! Here _ she _is!" Murphy slowly clapped his hands, smugly standing on a higher platform.

Jackie’s fists glowed as he clenched his teeth in anger.

“Ooo~ Look at that boys, she’s getting all emotional.”

Alright, that was enough. Hyde ran into the room, leaping up onto the higher platform with ease, punching Murphy in the face. "_ He _is the one who's gonna beat your ass next!" He grabbed Murphy by the collar, tossing him off the balcony, smiling when he heard him thump on the floor. "He's all yours, Jackie! I've got these other cowards!"

Murphy jumped to his feet. “Don’t just stand there you idiots! Get them!” 

Jackie’s fists glowed again as he swung his arm at Murphy. His first hit was blocked with an arm. “You hit like a girl!” Murphy said.

“Well, I should hope so!” Jackie replied as he connected with Murphy’s abdomen on the second. “A girl _ taught _ me how to fight!!”

He felt Murphy grab his wrist. He pulled, sending Murphy’s jaw into his knee. He freed his wrist, the movement flowing into the next as he elbowed a dude behind him.

"Finally, some action!" Hyde grabbed a nearby minion, quickly latching onto his back and landing a few blows on his skull, leaping off backwards as the minion flew back, slamming into another thug. Hyde then grabbed a nearby pipe, ripping it off the wall and using it like a bat.

"Bonk! Boink! Blam!" He watched as the pile of bodies began to enlarge, luckily remembering key pressure points from his days in college. "Come on, now! I know you guys can do better than that!" 

Jackie jumped over a kick, dodge rolling onto the floor to avoid another fist. He saw Hyde out of the corner of his eye. “Be careful with that pipe! Don’t kill anyone!!”

He kicked someone’s shin, punching them in the chest and jaw and sending them to the ground. He saw a spare rope that would have been used for a trap and grabbed it, tying the guy up as he tripped another.

Using the nearby wall to his advantage, he jumped off of it connecting his foot with another man’s chest. That was one thing Hyde certainly had wrong, there were far more than just four or five people here. Good thing that didn’t slow him down.

"I can't make any promises there, Jackaboy!" He laughed maniacally, taking down thug after thug, that was, until a large gorilla of a man stomped out onto the battlefield, looking Hyde in the eyes with a cold expression.

"Finally, a worthy opponent!" He crouched a little, preparing to fight. "Have at thee, cretin!" He pounced, swinging his pipe before it was grabbed by the larger man. Said larger man tossed the pipe—and hyde—aside, storming over to him and cracking his knuckles.

"You remind me of a certain green fellow! I've always wanted to fight the creature!" He hopped back up, weaving in and out of fists with the grace of a deer. "You gotta be a little faster than that, my good man!" He took the opportunity to grab onto the man's collar, kicking him in the crotch before tossing him onto the pile. "Who's next!?" 

Jackie jumped onto someone’s back, flipping off of them and landing a punch to another one. “Wait! You know about Hulk?!”

"The hell is a hulk!?" He kneed another dude in the face. "I'm talking about Frankenstine's monster!" 

Jackie flew a few more punches, blocking others with his force fields. “Don’t they h—” He heard the alarming click of a gun being cocked. Without even a second thought, he bolted towards Hyde. “Dude! Get down!!” He heard the bullet ricochet off of the blue-green aura with a sort of _ ting _ sound akin to tapping a spoon against a wine glass. 

"Thank you for saving my skin!" He looked around, sighing when he saw at least five more ruffians come out of the shadows. "How many people are actually here!? It's getting boring!" 

Jackie raced after the one holding a gun, keeping his force field up and using it to tackle them. “_Boring _ ?! Dude, this is a _ game _ to you?! _ You nearly got shot_!!” He roundhoused another dude, sending their jaw to the floor with a crack that had even him cringing.

"And you take this seriously!? What's life without a little danger!? The feeling of euphoria when you narrowly escape death, leaping from roof to roof with the constant threat of slipping to your doom, shots ringing out! It's all so _ exhilarating!" _He clocked a man square in the nose, a large almost creepy grin spreading across his face.

“I’m sorry to break up your routine ladies and gents, but the game isn’t over yet.” Jackie’s head snapped over to Murphy who stood back on the catwalk above. The leader put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The remaining goon leapt up to the platform with him, throwing a knife at a rope on the wall. It severed, releasing a trap door in the roof. A ladder dropped down through the hole, the unmistakable sound of helicopter blades whirring in the distance.

Jackie parkoured his way up to the platform, barely missing Murphy’s shoe as he rose up and away from his grasp. “Until next time!”

All he could do was glare through the opening, listening to Murphy’s laughter fade into the distance. There was a beat before he punched the wall. “Dammit! How does he keep getting away from me!?”

"Probably because he has a lot better stuff than you do?" He watched as the giant metal thing flew away, taking as many minions as it could with it. "Sure is an asshole, though! I can tell ya that much."

Suddenly, he remembered what he was doing before his attention was diverted. "Hey, what time is it?" 

Jackie pulled out his phone as he proceeded to make sure the unconscious people would stay put until the authorities arrived. “Umm...two in the morning.” He handed another rope to Samantha, instructing her to help tie other people up. 

“I’ll probably hang out on the roof for a while, make sure no one else escapes, see if there’s anything else people need help with. I should probably return the stuff that was stolen.” He eyed a bag of goods that was off in the corner. “I’ll have to track him down again to get that emerald though.” He hung his head back, heaving a long sigh.

"I see… well, it was fun, Jackie! I have to say, you put up a good fight!" He put his hands on his hips, trying to seem nonchalant. "Anyways, I must get going now! I have some… business to attend to!"

He leapt out of the warehouse, beginning his trek back home.

As Jackie headed outside to sit on a nearby roof he called after him, “You too, Dude! Thanks for the help!”

Hyde finally reached the roof of the house, pinpointing Marvin's window and letting himself in quietly. Now all he had to do was—!

A hiss erupted from behind him; he whipped around to find a small white cat with its hair on end staring directly at him. He hissed back. "Fuck off, cat!" He waved his hand at the cat, ignoring Jekyll's warning, pulling his hand back with a sharp intake of air when he realized he had gotten _ bit_. Great.

He watched with a small amount of horror as a glow began to creep up his arm without pain, the bright green color taking over his entire form. ** _Perfect! Just what we needed!_ **

He took a step, a loud cracking noise ringing out in the room. SHIT.

If his cat hissing hadn’t already woken him up, then that noise certainly did as Marvin sat up in bed. His hands lit up with a green aura. “Who’s there?!” He scanned the room, quickly spotting a green glowing figure. “What the fuck?! Who the hell are you?!”

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that! I'll tell you later! Just change me back and we can have a nice little talk!" He stood in a defensive position, his hands held out in front of him with a fake smile on his face.

He glared, his aura glowing brighter. “I’m only going to ask this one more time. Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?”

Hyde sighed, realizing he was going nowhere with the negotiation tactic and deciding to default to the half truth. "I'm Dr. Jekyll's associate, Edward Hyde. I wish we could have met on better terms, but for right now this will have to do." He sneakily grabbed the vial filled with red liquid, slipping it into his pocket. "Now can you fix me?" 

The magic dissipated from his hand. “Oh. Why didn’t you just say so?” He stood up, going over to shake his hand. “I’m Marvin Hayes! But, no, I unfortunately can’t change Pips’ effects on people. It’s more internal magic effects; you’ll have to wait for it to wear off.” 

He stood back, finally getting a good look at him. He snickered. “You look like a human glow-stick."

"The fuck is a glow-stick? And how long will I be stuck like this?" He felt a small sense of dread fill him as he realized that he wouldn't be able to become Jekyll again for lord knows how long…

“Ehh...not too long.” He gave the so-so gesture. “I’d say about an hour.” He grabbed his phone, showing Hyde a picture of a glowstick, trying his best to hold in his laughter.

"Amazing..." He groaned, deciding to sit down on a nearby chair. The cat hissed at him again. "Shut the hell up, _ cat. _" He knew the cat's name, but he figured saying it would raise suspicions.

“Oh, come on.” Marvin sat back down on his bed, picking Pips up and stroking his back to calm him down. “It’s not so bad.” He pursed his lips, a very stupid smile forming. “Maybe you should,” he snickered, “_lighten up_?”

He growled, staring up at the man. "You're pushing it, Mr. Hayes." He clenched his fists, glaring at the man standing before him.

Marvin placed a hand on his shoulder. “Oh come on, I know I’m not that bright but you have to give me some credit!”

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that, TWO CHAPTERS TODAY!

“Ow!” Marvin flinched.

“Hold still you idiot,” Henrik replied, treating Marvin’s swollen eye.

He grumbled, crossing his arms. “Yeah, well _ he _ was the one who punched me!” He stuck his thumb in Hyde’s direction who was currently seated in a corner of the kitchen.

"I warned you! You were getting on my nerves!" He huffed, crossing his arms and looking at the cat bite. The damn thing got him right in the middle of his forearm!

Lanyon, who had just woken up, wandered into the kitchen. "Good morning everyone!" 

"Good morning, Dr. Lanyon!" Rachel handed him a cup of coffee before joining Jasper back at the dining table.

"Yes! Good _ morning _Lanyon!" Hyde said, smugly.

"Ugh, good morning, Mr.—" Wait… was that..? He turned, making direct eye contact with the small man. "How on God's green earth did you get here!?" 

“He climbed through my window, was bitten by my cat, and looked like a green human glow-stick,” Marvin said, doing his best to glare at Hyde.

“And zen zis idiot proceeded to egg him on and got a black eye for his troubles,” Henrik added, finally handing Marvin an ice pack. “Zee good news is is zat zere appear to be no furzer problems. Just keep zis on zee bruise.”

“Thanks.”

Chase stretched his arms as he walked into the kitchen. “Morning everyone, what seems to—” He stopped short, staring at Marvin. He opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted.

“Don’t ask.”

“Right.” He moved on to grab some breakfast only to stop again. He pointed at Hyde. “Uh...who’s the gremlin?”

"Who the _ FUCK _ are you calling a _ GREMLIN!?" _Hyde quickly stood, walking over to Chase with terrifying speed only to be pulled back by his cape.

"Easy Hyde, eaaasy!" She looked at Chase with apologetic eyes. "Sorry! He has a short temper! This is Edward Hyde!" She gestured to Hyde, smiling.

James stopped midway down the hall, seeming to stumble. Edward Hyde? _ Edward Hyde_? He peered around the corner to the kitchen, catching sight of messy blonde hair, a green vest, and a cloak. He ducked back into the hallway. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

Chase held up his hands, backing off. “Jeez, you don’t need to take it so harshly. But umm...nice to meet you! I’m Chase Brody!”

Hyde snatched his cloak back, turning to Chase. "I'd say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but that would be a lie!" There was a hint of venom in his voice as he stuck his hand out, still making some effort. "Insult me again and you lose your teeth."

Rachel snorted, beginning to laugh. "You!? Pulling teeth!? Just the other night I saw you petting a stray cat!"

Hyde felt his face go bright red, shooting a glare at Rachel that, if looks could kill, would have murdered her right on the spot.

Chase reluctantly took Hyde’s hand, trying his best to suppress his own smile. “Welp, I’m gonna get some food,” he said, turning around and heading for the fridge.

“I wouldn’t doubt him,” Marvin added, moving the ice pack away from his eye a moment. “He _ did _ give me this.” A half smile formed. “Then again...my cat _ did _ bite him and he didn’t punch him. Oh, if you did, by the way, you’d have to face _ my _ wrath.”

James smiled ever so slightly as he saw Robbie come down the hall. He saw the zombie open his mouth to say hello, but he put his finger to his lips. It was a split second decision mind you, but still, he didn’t want to be seen.

"What kind of monster hurts an animal? You'd have to be _ really _depraved to do that!" He hopped up onto the kitchen corner, grabbing another cookie. "I may be known to indulge in some unsavory activities, but animals will always be spared."

"They'd better be!" Jasper shouted from the dining table, his human form returned to him.

Henrik sighed, “Please do not sit on zee kitchen counter.” Great, _ another _ adult child to deal with. Who made him the dad again?

Robbie shuffled into the kitchen, the hat still on his head. “Good...morning. Friend...hurt?”

“Yeah, it’s just a little bit though,” Marvin replied. He didn’t know if Robbie had been referring to him or the conversation on animals. Either way, it was Robbie, and he would be concerned.

“That good…” He turned his head, spotting the man on the counter. He smiled. “Edward...hello friend…”

Hyde hid his smile, getting off the counter. Not because he was told, mind you, but because he wanted to greet his undead buddy! No one told _ him _what to do. "Robbie! Good morning! How are you on this fine day, my good man?"

“Good!...How...are you?...What happen...to Marv?”

"I'm doing just grand! Don't mind Mr. Hayes, by the by, everything happens for a reason!" He threw an arm around Robbie's shoulders, a smirk spreading on his face. "Say, can I see some of your plant buddies today?" 

Rachel looked up, gasping when she saw the familiar tophat with a green ribbon—the one she had bought—sitting on Robbie's head. "Oh. My. Goodness!" She shot up out of her seat, running over to Robbie and cupping his face in her hands. "You look adorable! Did Master Hyde give you that?"

Robbie beamed, giggling. “Yes...Edward...give hat....Call...Robbie gentle...man!”

James bit his lip, a little uncomfortable with this. Where was Jekyll? He was the only one of the group who hadn’t shown up yet (minus Jackie of course, whom he assumed was passed out on his bedroom floor after crawling through the window). What was he gonna do, what was he gonna do?

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it!" He lifted the hat, ruffling the zombie's hair before crookedly plopping the hat back down on his head. 

"You are just so handsome with that on! Absolutely stunning!" She gently pinched his cheeks, a large grin on her face.

"Yes, I suppose he does!" Lanyon had finally woken up a bit more, taking another sip of his coffee.

James took in a deep breath. He was going to walk in there and stop being afraid was what he was gonna do. With one more sigh, he walked into the kitchen, doing his best to smile and wave.

“Oh, morning James!” Chase said as he pulled out a carton of orange juice from the fridge.

Lanyon looked over at James, who was standing across from him. "Ah! Good morning, Mr. Jackson! Did you get some good rest?"

Jasper waved, smiling as he watched Rachel pat Robbie's cheeks one last time before sitting down next to the wolfman. "Good morning! There's coffee, and I'm currently waiting on some scones! There's also some tea if you prefer!"

Hyde turned around, time seeming to slow as the two made eye contact. The smaller man, clad in green and black, stared at the other, acidic green irises burning holes into his soul as a mop of blonde fell from his shoulders like a waterfall. "Oh! Good morning, I don't believe I've met you?" He stepped forward just a bit, the small gap between them shrinking. He held out his hand, bowing slightly.

"The name's Hyde, Edward Hyde."

James froze. The oxygen caught in his throat. All he could see were those eyes. Those green eyes. Those all-too-familiar burning green eyes. A distant laugh echoed in his mind, knowing that at any moment _ he _would—

“James.” He jumped, gasping out of his tiny trance as he felt Chase’s hand on his shoulder. “Are you ok?”

He slowly nodded, failing to notice the others staring at the black mark above his head.

Hyde gaped, reaching up to poke the exclamation point, slightly surprised when he got a form of resistance.

Rachel gasped, getting up and poking it as well. What? You wouldn't poke it?

Jasper simply got up and stood next to Lanyon, observing from a distance.

Lanyon sighed, putting his face in his hand. Thank God Henry was still asleep, otherwise he would be all over this.

James flinched again, backing up slightly from the crowd. What was he supposed to do now? He raised his hands to cover his face, only to have Chase pull them away. “Guys. Please, back off for the moment. He needs some space right now.”

Rachel pulled back, recognizing the fear in Jameson's eyes. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't notice! I got too excited…" She backed up, giving him some space.

Hyde groaned, only budging when everyone was still staring at him. What was he doing wrong? He just poked a stupid punctuation mark!

Chase turned back to James, holding both of his shoulders in his hands. “You speak in whatever way makes you more comfortable, alright?”

James slowly nodded his head, his lungs working at a far more acceptable pace now.

Chase pulled him into a hug. “And if anyone gives you any shit for it, we’ll take care of it.”

_ Hyde. Time's up. _

** _Oh, come on! Lighten up! I just met someone new! If I could just—_ **

_ No. We agreed that the one hour of waiting didn't count towards your time being out. You made a promise, now keep it! _

** _Fine! Have it your way!_ ** Hyde excused himself, quietly entering Marvin's room and setting aside some of Jekyll's clothing. He sighed, holding the small vial up to his lips. ** _You're no fun, you know that? _ **He downed the potion, doubling over as the transformation began.

"Hey, where did Hyde go?" Jasper looked around the room now that everyone had relaxed a bit.

"I dunno! He told me that he was gonna leave and get some sleep!"

A familiar voice came from the doorway. "I highly doubt that man would ever sleep!" Jekyll entered the kitchen, preparing himself a cup of tea, and grabbing a scone that had just been pulled out of the oven. "Good morning everyone! My apologies for my late arrival, I'm not used to having no alarm!" 

James sat down. He didn’t know if he could keep this up. A speech bubble appeared over his head, a golden aura surrounding it. “**Good morning…**” Forget Jekyll for the moment, he didn’t want to think about it right now.

“Zere you are, how did you sleep? Vas Marvin’s room ok?” Henrik asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Marvin smirked. “Heh, doubt it. I didn’t see him after my rude awakening. I’m guessing the chair wasn’t comfortable?”

Jekyll nearly choked on his tea, simply brushing it off as seeing the speech bubble. "Mr. Jackson, that's incredible! Pardon my suddenness!" He then remembered that he was asked a question. "Oh! Yes! You see, I had to use the restroom, I must have left before Mr. Hyde came in! I went back to bed afterwards, however, but by the time I returned, you were gone!"

Lanyon smirked, watching Jekyll get excited about the speech bubble that James had. It was adora—no, it was nice! It was nice to see his friend so happy.

“Oh, that’s good. I was actually a little worried the chair would be uncomfortable.” Marvin chuckled, placing the ice pack back on his eye.

James looked up a little. “**Really?**” He glanced over at Chase who gave him a gentle smile in return.

Robbie turned around from the refrigerator, slices of ham gathered on a plate. “Hello...Jek...Look! Hat!” He pointed at Hyde’s gift. He sat down at the table, gently touching the brim. “Gentle...man…”

Jekyll smiled, walking over to the zombie and patting his head. "You most certainly are a gentleman! Is that Mr. Hyde's hat? He never gives that thing to anybody!"

"It is! You just missed it! Hyde was being surprisingly sweet!" Rachel said, handing a scone to Jasper.

"He was, it was quite odd if you ask me! He's always got some sort of chip on his shoulder…" Lanyon remarked, pondering it for a moment.

Jekyll looked back over at James, smiling. "Of course! I deal with the supernatural every day, but I've never seen abilities quite like yours, Mr. Jackson!"

“Robbie...sad...Hat...make Robbie feel...better!” He smiled, putting a slice of ham into his mouth.

James perked up at that. “**Remember that animation I showed you? Sometimes there are cartoons that use bubbles to indicate speech.** **I’m still not sure how I gained this ability, but it’s not the only thing I can do!**”

“Yeah,” Marvin added, “I suspect his abilities have something to do with his connection to both Estelle and the pocket watch. Other than that, we’re not sure how it works.”

James nodded. “**I can control it now but there are times where it comes and goes. It’s part of the reason I learned sign language.**”

"I see… so your abilities might be another key to getting us home?" Jekyll pondered this thought for a second, deciding to put it lower on the list of things to do. 

James shrugged, a question mark forming. “**I don’t know, but I can do this.**” He reached behind his back pulling out a pen.

Jekyll quickly looked behind Jameson's back, seeing nothing but air. "Did you do that with the book you had earlier? Something about a strange case?"

Rachel sped over to Jekyll and James, leaning over Jekyll's shoulder. "You can do magic too!?" 

James shrugged his shoulders, trying to avoid eye contact. This is what he got for trying to be cool. He decided to focus on Rachel’s question. “**I...I guess you could call it magic. It does sound pretty swell that way!**”

“Yeah, I was trying to figure out if the watch had any sort of magical properties, and we all know where that got us.”

"Good to know… we should get right back to work after breakfast!" Jekyll stood, setting his empty teacup down and beginning to head upstairs before Lanyon grabbed his collar.

"Or..." He pulled Jekyll back, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We could take a break and not overwork!"

“I for one think that sounds like a great idea!” Marvin added, putting the ice pack down.

“_You _ are not going anyvhere until zat svelling has gone down.” Henrik said, crossing his arms.

“Make me!” Marvin snapped his fingers and disappeared in a puff of green smoke. He reappeared outside the kitchen window, waving smugly.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’m gonna kill him…”

Jekyll looked out the window, waving back at Marvin. "Does he do this a lot?"

Lanyon smirked, letting go of Jekyll. "If he's anything like Hyde, then I'd dare to say yes." 

** _Hey!_ **

“Unfortunately for his health and my sanity, yes.” Henrik said, taking a long sip of his coffee.

“I’m with Marvin on this one. I think going out is a great idea!” Chase said. “I could use a walk around town to be honest.”

"Well, we'll get to explore modern society! Have a day on the new town!" Rachel jumped up, bouncing on her heels.

Jasper got excited himself, anxious to see modern society at work.

"Well, it appears we are all in agreement, what time should we depart?" Jekyll said, smiling.

James pulled out his watch. “**Well, it’s currently 7:00AM. I’d say in about an hour, hour and a half?**”

Robbie’s eyes widened. “Robbie...go...too?” He bounced in his seat. Maybe he could finally go to a greenhouse and see all the wonderful plants! All the animals! There were so many new friends to meet!

“I sink zat sounds like a marvelous idea. It vould give everyone time to eat and get ready.” Henrik added, nodding his head.

* * *

Jekyll felt underdressed as he stepped outside of the house with no cloak or tophat, wondering if anyone else felt this way. Lanyon seemed more in his element, but then again he didn't have to try and impress people as much as he did. He looked around the street, expecting there to be more fog than there was. "So, where are we going again?

"Well, I believe Jasper and Robbie wanted to go to a greenhouse, but personally I would rather enjoy a walk in a park!"

“The park sounds cool!” Chase replied. “Walking through nature always helps clear my head.”

“Green...house.” Robbie giggled. “Park...sound good...too...Plants...”

"Well then, I believe it's settled! Now we just need to find a way to get there! Do we ring for a carriage or something of the sort?" Rachel said, looking up and down the quiet street

“Vell, a cab vould be too small to fit all of us,” Henrik added as he locked the door.

Marvin snapped his fingers. “What if I teleported us there!”

“I don’t know. Zat is a lot of people, even for you.”

He put a hand to his chin. “Then how about only half of you, and the rest could take a cab?”

“Zat is plausible.”

“The only question is, who’s willing to be your guinea pigs?” Chase snickered. Marvin promptly elbowed him in the shoulder.

Rachel's eyes widened as she stuck her hand up in the air, akin to a child who knows the answer in class. "ME, ME, ME!" 

Jekyll thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I'm always up for experimentation! Will anyone be joining us?"

Jasper and Lanyon gave each other a look, then returned their focus to Marvin and the others. They aggressively shook their heads no.

“I’m down.” Chase said, standing next to Marvin. “Let’s get ready to rumble.”

Robbie slowly put his hand in the air. “Robbie...go?”

“Are you sure you vant to go?” Henrik asked, looking at the zombie with concern.

“Uh...huh.” He smiled.

“Alright, just be careful.”

“Sweet! That’s everyone then?” Chase asked.

Marvin glanced at him. “Do you see anyone else here?”

“Ok, no need to get all sarcastic here.”

Jekyll braced himself, the memory of that weird man teleporting him last night still making him slightly dizzy. "I'm ready whenever you are."

** _Boy, oh boy! This'll be fun!_ **

"I'm excited! I've never _ teleported _ before!" Rachel practically buzzed with happiness, her eyes glowing.

“Well then, prepare yourselves for something astounding!” He tossed both sides of his cape behind him and crossed his arms, preparing to snap his fingers.

James chuckled at Marvin’s dramatics. Once a showman, always a showman.

“Woo!” Chase pumped his fist in the air. “Let’s go!”

“Please! Do not hurt yourself,” Henrik said, biting his lip. He trusted Marvin, but he didn’t want him to overexert himself.

Marvin nodded his head. _ Snap_! The five of them disappeared into green smoke, leaving the others on the porch.

"He certainly is one for dramatics, isn't he?" Jasper said, watching as the green smoke dissipated.

"Yes, he most certainly seems to be, I just hope they're okay…"

Jekyll opened his eyes, feeling the ground still beneath him and a light breeze flowing through his hair. He was now standing in front of the park, Rachel standing next to him as she radiated pure energy. "Great work, Marvin!"

"Yeah! That was so cool! What else can you do?" She looked around, not seeing said magician. "Marvin?"

There was a laugh from above them, causing the group to look up.

“What the—How the hell did you get up there?!” Chase called.

Robbie waved.

Currently, Marvin was positioned a fair distance off the ground. To be more specific, he was on a roof.

“I’m not entirely sure. I think my trajectory was slightly off. Better me than you guys though, am I right?!” He chuckled.

Jekyll gaped, staring up at the man. "Can you get down from there?" 

Marvin disappeared in another cloud, reappearing next to them. “Of course.”

Robbie clapped his hands, spotting the bridge into the park. “Park! Robbie...find friends.” He was about to walk out into the street only to be pulled back by Chase.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get over there. We don’t need anyone getting ran over is all.”

Jekyll smiled at Robbie's happiness, walking over to a crosswalk with the group and waiting. "It appears that plants are your specialty, right?" he said as he held his arms behind his back.

Robbie nodded his head, walking beside him. “Yeah...Robbie...read about...friends. Robbie...know...their names!” He bounced on his heels, excitedly.

“I’m actually really glad you got to come with, Robbie,” Marvin said. “It’s not often he gets to go out on the town. He’s always really worried about how others will perceive him.” Marvin walked up to them, leaning against a nearby building to wait for the others to arrive.

"Well, the only way to change perceptions is to do it by hand!" Jekyll said, pointing his finger in the air.

"Yeah! Show, don't tell!" Rachel ruffled the zombie's hair, smiling.

“But...people scared...of zombies…,” Robbie said, Rachel making him smile a bit.

“Well, we aren’t scared of you buddy. You wouldn’t hurt a fly! Literally!” Chase said, giving him a sidelong hug.

It wasn’t long before a cab pulled up, the others getting out. “Hello everyone,” Henrik began after paying the driver, “How did it go?”

"Not bad, actually! Just one hiccup, but for the most part, pretty good!" 

"Yeah! Marvin ended up on a roof! I have to say, it was rather funny!" Rachel giggled slightly, looking over at the magician.

“Of course he ended up on zee roof.” Henrik shook his head.

Jameson signed, “_It’s alright. Everyone’s here now!_ " He waved his hand as he started across the crosswalk.

Robbie followed close behind, nearly passing James to get to the park.

Jekyll followed as well, his gaggle of friends joining him.

"So, was teleportation all it was cracked up to be?"

"I suppose so, it wasn't as disorienting as I thought it would be, in all honesty!"

"That's good to hear." Lanyon smirked, looking at the world around him. "Modern society sure is odd…"

“What do you mean?” Chase asked, striding up to the two of them. “I mean, I guess I have bias given that I live in modern society, but what’s so off about it?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s everything?” Marvin deadpanned. “I thought that would be obvious.”

Chase gave him a light shove. “I got that, I’m just curious is all.”

Jekyll thought about it for a moment as they walked into the park, looking back at the street. "Well, the lack of horses, for one. How do any of those mechanical carriages work?"

Lanyon watched people walk past, eyeing the group strangely. "That and the attire, does anyone have any sense of class and style nowadays?" 

Chase tried to hold back his laughter. “Ok, boomer.”

Marvin burst out laughing. “They are so beyond being boomers.”

The two gave each other a look. “These aren’t your average, everyday boomers, these are…”

“Advanced boomers!!”

Henrik rolled his eyes. “You two are such children.”

Chase snapped his fingers “Welp, takes a child to raise some, I guess.”

He smiled, shaking his head. “I suppose you’ve got me zere.”

"What is a… boomer? Does it have something to do with those meme things he was talking about?" He gave Jekyll a confused look, which was simply returned to him.

"You're asking the wrong person, old friend."

Jasper smiled as Robbie stared in awe at all of the plants and Rachel squealing over every dog. "See, Robbie? No one's scared!"

Robbie beamed pointing at a tree. “That’s...a...Corn...Cornish Elm! See...the leaves, and the...trunk?”

“I guess you could say that it’s a meme,” Chase replied. “I’ll tell you more about them later.”

James watched a bird flit overhead before sitting down on a nearby bench. “_Perhaps after this I can show you an antique shop I love. It’s one of my favorite places to go! _”

Henrik sat down next to him. “I sink zat sounds vonderful. Maybe zat is vhere some of us can go, vhile zee rest go to zee greenhouse?”

"Well I believe that sounds like a wonderful idea! Shall we leave now and let the others do their business?" Jekyll stopped with the group, Lanyon standing beside him.

"Yes, I believe we should!"

In that moment, Jekyll felt a tap on his arm. He turned around and saw a small, heavyset teenager with a phone in her hand, her colorful hair up in a bun with a backpack on. "Hey! Uh, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if my friend and I could get a picture with a few of you? Your cosplays are wonderful!" A similarly short teenager walked up, standing next to the former while fiddling with the buttons on her jean jacket.

The egos exchanged a confused look but didn’t say anything.

“Yeah!” The other girl bounced on her heels, grinning ear to ear. “They’re so good! I swear, if there was a convention going on here that I didn’t know about I’m gonna riot.” She adjusted her glasses, brushing stray hair out of her face.

"Oh, worm?" The younger girl laughed.

"Uh… sure? But uh, what is a cosplay?" Jekyll looked over at Lanyon, confused.

"Ooh! In character, too! I love it. So, can y'all kinda crouch down? If ya couldn't tell, I'm not exactly the tallest woman alive." She grabbed her friend's hand, pulling up the camera on her phone.

Lanyon knelt down, Jekyll following suit as they smiled. A few pictures were taken, and thanks were exchanged, before the girls went on their merry way, squealing as they looked at the photos.

“Cosplay, huh?” Marvin began, putting a hand to his chin. “I guess that means in our universe you guys are characters of some kind.” He looked over at Chase who shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t look at me, I’ve never heard of these guys.”

James sunk in his chair, hoping not to be seen while also mentally cursing Marvin. Out of all the people here...

“Vell, it doesn’t really matter in zee long run. I suppose vee should head off, who vants to join us?” he asked as both James and he stood from the bench.

Robbie, in the meantime, sat underneath a tree, kicking his feet to and fro.

Jasper had joined the zombie, quietly listening to the conversation that was unfolding near the park bench. Thank God for super hearing!

Rachel had also sat next to the two, her dress spilling over her legs and acting as a sort of blanket to keep out the chill of London air. "So, where is this green house you two were talking about?"

** _Seriously? An antique store!? _ ** **This ** ** _is how you're spending your time in the 21st century!?_ **

_ Yes, it is, and I intend to have a good time! Just, don't exist for a little while, won't you? _

Chase walked over to the tree, sitting down next to Jasper. “It’s a few blocks down I think. A pretty decent walking distance. I could come with you guys, if you’d like. I like antiques, but if you need a guide, I got you.”

Robbie nodded his head, brushing some grass with his fingertips. “That...be nice…”

“Alright zen, it’s settled.” He lifted up his sleeve to look at his watch. “Let’s meet back here in say, two and a half hours?”

Chase held out his thumb. “Sounds good to me!”

Lanyon smiled. "Lead the way then, good sir!" he said, turning to Schneep.

* * *

Robbie could barely contain his excitement as they walked through the door from the lobby and into the greenhouse. He bounced on his toes, looking at all the large, tropical plants. It was warm, reminding him of his room back home. “Friends!”

Chase smiled, watching Robbie’s excitement. “Ok buddy, where to first? You lead the way.”

Robbie trundled forward, leaning by the tiny water feature which spread further into the greenery. He gasped. “Koi…look,...Koi.” He watched the large orange, white, and black scaled fish swim around.

Jasper gasped as he watched the Koi swim within the pond, gently sticking a finger in the water, the beautiful colors entrancing him. He giggled a little as the fish nibbled at his fingers. "They're amazing!"

Rachel smiled, watching the Koi do their thing. "They really are... And they're nice to watch!"

Robbie stood up, following the stream across a small wooden bridge, naming plants as we went. He sat down by a larger pond, going back to watching the Koi.

“If you put your fingers in the water, they’ll give you kisses.”

Robbie turned his head. Kneeling next to him was a little girl; she had curly red hair and wore a white shirt, a green jacket tied around her waist. 

“Really?” Robbie replied, smiling.

“Yep!” She pushed her glasses back up her nose as she turned to him. As Robbie stuck a finger in the water she tilted her head. “Why’s your skin grey?”

Jasper stood next to Robbie, listening to the conversation. It was just the two of them and the little girl, as Chase and Rachel had gone off to do something that Jasper couldn't remember. "His skin is grey because he's special! He's not like you or me!"

She smiled. “My mum always said everyone was special in some way!”

Robbie blinked his eyes at her. “But...Robbie...a zombie...You...not scared...of...Robbie?” 

“Nope!” She lifted up her sock, showing a prosthetic. “See? Everyone’s special in some way.”

"Yeah, like me! I can see and hear things super duper well!" Jasper decided against showing off his true secret, instead opting to just act like he had superb abilities.

“That...neat! Special...leg…” Robbie smiled, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt to show her the sprout. “Robbie...like plants.”

“Woah…” She stared wide eyed at the plant. “I guess the plants like you too.” She giggled.

"He's practically magic, ain't he?" Jasper smiled, enjoying the cute interaction the two were having.

“Pippin! Come on sweetie, it’s time to go!” A woman up the path peeked her head around a tree, calling the girl’s name.

“Coming mum! Bye Robbie, it was nice to meet you! I hope to see you again soon!”

Robbie waved to the little girl. “You...too...Pippin.”

"Buh bye! Wow, what a sweet little girl!" He sighed happily, going back to the fish. "See? You're not scary, Robbie, just special!"

Robbie looked up, watching the girl skip off, hearing the beginning of her conversation. “Mum, I met a man who can grow plants!”

He smiled again, sticking his finger back in the water. “Robbie...not scary...Robbie...special…”

* * *

Hyde leapt from rooftop to rooftop, smiling as he did so. He had to admit, the more distance between the houses, the more fun it was! "So, care to explain that… bone thing you showed us yesterday?" It was still weird for him to say "us" with another person present, but he'd get used to it.

Anti looked over his shoulder, running somewhat beside him, his form glitching around every so often. “Ì̴̡t̨̛’s͏̕ a̡͜͞ p̵͟l̵̨͢͠ac̀͟͞͠e Į l̨͢͠i̷k͏͟͏͘è̵͜ t͜o̢̢͘͜ v̡͟i͡s̀́͟i̡̡t f̸̧̛ro̸̶̢m tį́͠͝m̢͜͞ę̶̧͠ t͡o t̡̧̨̢i̢͏̷̕m̛e̷͢͝͝...a̢ ré́̕̕mi̸̧͝͏n̶͞d̷͏̴e҉̀̕r o̷̵̕͞f̨ g͏̸o̢ǫ͝d̢͢͞ t͘͏į̸̷͏m̸̢͟͡e̡̛s͡͏́!” He leapt ahead, sliding down a slope. Before he went over the edge he kicked off with his feet, somersaulting in the air and landing on the next rooftop with ease. He hadn’t done something like this in a long time, and he loved every second of it.

Hyde easily kept up with him, confusion masking his features. "What do you mean, 'good times?'" 

Anti glitched ahead several rooftops, grinning madly.

"Huh, dodging the question, literally… that's a different approach!"

_ But not a surprising one. _ Jekyll took form in Hyde's shadow, running with him across the Brighton roofs. _ He's hiding something, and he's hiding something _ ** _big_**_. _

"Come on, now! Like you said last night, there's probably a very logical explanation for this! He's weird, he probably collects animal bones or something!"

_ I'm not sure… just, try and distance yourself from him. _

"You worry too much!" He finally caught up with Anti again, grinning. "That seemed like a bit of cheating to me!"

The glitchy man smirked. “W҉h̴̶͟at y̴̶̛ơ̸u͜ ca̴̸͜lĺ̸̛ c͏̀h̷̴́è͟ą̵̸͡ţ̶in̸g͘͡͡͏, I̶̶͜ c̵͠a͘l͟l a̢͢ń̷͡ a̴d҉v̵̧͟͢antà͟͠g̴e. Wa̵̶̴͢ś̨͞ w͟ond҉̷͢͞e̕̕͝͠r̴͏̧̕i͝n҉͏ wh͝҉͘͜a͠t̸ t̶̛͘͞o͘͏̢́o̡͞ķ̴ y̡͡ou̡̕͢ s͝͝ó̀͢͞ l͘ơ̴͟n̢̢g͏̢.” He examined his knife, watching the moonlight glint off the steel surface. “S̡͏̷o̵̢͜͢, ẃ̶̨͜hat̷̴ ţ̕o̢ d̷́o̷̷͝ ne̢xt̵͠͡…”

"Well, do you have any more secrets to show off? It's only fair, my big one in turn for a few of your small ones! Whaddya say?"

Anti put a hand to his chin, pondering this idea. A sly smile slinked onto his face. “Al͏̵̧͡r͡͏͢͝iģ̀͢h̶͏̸́t̵̢͢͠...t͡͝hat şe̸̶͟͡ę̴͠ms̢̡͜ f̸̷̧ai͜r̴̵̢͡.” He twirled the knife. “Į́’ll̡͘͢͡ s͘ho̷̕͝o҉t!”

He pointed at the scar on his neck. “G̛̕͜͏ǫţ̛̕ t͏͘͟҉h̸̛́is͢͝͝ b̛͢eą͟͟͏ut͏y f̵̛rom̨͝͞ s͠͡҉o̧m̴̧̀e̸̶̡o͟͡͞ne e̴̕͡l̶͢҉͜s̢̡é͏͏. Í̡͢ ļ̸i̴̡͞k͟e̷͘d̸̀ i̛͏̶͝t, d̴̡̕e͝c̷i͟͞d̷̢́͠e̡ḑ̶̀͜ ţ҉̢o̴ kȩ̸̡è͘͜p̷ i̛t̴̀͘!”

Hyde stopped for a moment, looking at him. "Really? That's it? No more boneyards, powers, nothin?" He crossed his arms, slightly glaring at him. "I thought you had something more extravagant! Something _ big." _

“T͏̸̛҉he͟͠͠͞r̸̡͠e ** _ẃ̵̢͜a̛̛͡͞s_ ** on҉̵̧̛e oţ̛͝h̶͏e̡r̷ t̴h̴̴̷i̢̨̢͜n̴ǵ͟ I̢͝͡ w̛a̴͞nt̢͏e̡̕͠d̡͢͜ ţ̸́͝o̕҉̶͟ sh̴̨͢o̵҉w̧̢͠҉ y̷̕͠͠o̷̡u…” He leered, teleporting them onto another rooftop. He jumped down into an alleyway, leaving Hyde on the roof.

Hyde climbed down the building, the street and nearby houses seeming familiar. _ Too _ familiar…

_ Hyde. This is the street with the house! The damn house with all of our friends inside of it! Are you seriously going to risk being seen with this… this _ ** _monster!?_ **

** _I don't have a choice, Jekyll! It'll look suspicious if we leave now!_ **

“So̷̸, a̢̛b͢҉͠҉o͟ut̢͏ t҉͏͜ḩ̴͟͠a҉̕͝t́ t̀͝h̸̷̢̨í̶͟n̛͜g̵̷̛ I͡҉̀͡ ẃ̸̸̕aņ͟t̸̢̡͟e͘͟d̨̛̛҉ ţ͜҉ǫ̢̛́ s͏͏͘ho͘͠ẃ̛̛͞ yo̶̕͞͝ừ̡͡…” He dramatically waved his knife next to him, seeming to unveil something. The air wavered next to him like heat waves rising off of a sidewalk. “Ì̕ j̨͏u͘͢͝st̴ s̕͏o hà̴̵͞p͠͡p̧̛͞en̵̨̛͢e̵̡̧d͝ ţ͝o̶̢̨ b̡̢e t̵̸͘͞a̢͡kin̕͢͜͝g a͝҉ s̶̴̕͝t̡̕r̛̀̕͠o͟ll̷̕ w̧͏̶h͜e̢͏n Ì̢ c̨͝a̧̛̕͏m͏̶́͠e ą̴̸͜c̡ross̵͘̕ t̢́͟h́҉i͜s̸͞ cu̴̶͝r̵͠i̡ou̸̶͜͜s̶ f̨el̡ļ̀͜͡o͏̛͟͝w̷!”

"The hell are you on about? Nothing about this street seems curious, it's simply a neighborhood! And a rather boring one, if you ask me."

_ Great job on getting rid of suspicion! Wonderful performance, Edward. _

** _Oh, shut it, old man!_ **

Anti glared, quietly growling with irritation. “Yo̡̨͘͢u҉̴͝ m̶̡͟͠e҉̛͝͠a͘n̵͘ t͘o̴̧̧͟ ţ͏̷͡e҉͟͢l̷̛͜l̕ m̷̵̢̨ȩ̀̀͜ y͟͞҉ò͡͠u̴̡̧͞ ** _d͠oņ̷́͢’t̴͟͜ _ ** sę͞͞è̕ i̵̢̛t?” He waved his knife in the air next to him again, his grip tightening. “ ** _Pé͏̧́r͢h̛͠͡ap̛s̶̡_ ** y͢o̴̷̴͞u s͏̡̢̕h̷҉ou͠l̢̛͜͞d̨͘͟͠ l̕͢҉̧o̡̢͡oķ̶͡ a͜ li̢̕͢tt̴̷͘͝l̵̀͟͡ę̕͢͡ cl̵̛͡os͘e̴̴̛r͏̨͘.”

Hyde grumbled, looking closer at the air next to Anti. Then, as if an illusion had been dropped, a sliver of pastel green light appeared, quickly being recognized as—

_ The rift! That's our ticket home! We have to tell the others, this is perfect! This is—_

Anti glitched in front of Jekyll’s wispy form. He bared his teeth ever so slightly. “T͟hi͡s̢ i҉s͞͡͞͡ oú̷͠r͝ ļ́i͏̡t̨tl̕͟͞͝e̸̢͜͟ s̕͠͏͝ȩ͘͢͡ç̷̢̧r͢͏èt̷̸̵̢ i̢͟ş́͜ ẁ̷̢͏ha̸̧͞t̕̕ t҉͟҉ḩ̶̀͡iş i̸̛͠s̶͟."

"What!? This can't be a secret, this is our fucking ticket home!" Hyde growled, getting in Anti's face.

Jekyll shuddered as he felt what he thought was the hot breath of Anti in his face, but then chalking it up to imagination.

“Nót̨ q̕͟u͜ite. Uǹ́͟͡f̶ó̸r̶̀͟t́un̡͘at̀͘͝l̵e̕͏͜͡y, y̶͘oú̵̡ ca̧n’t̴͠͝͡ g̀́ȩ̵̧t̀͢ t͠͠h̴͟͡ro̷͢͝u̢̨g̕͞h̵̢ i̷t̛͜.”

"I'll find a way to get through it! I know people, people that can do amazing things! You think I'm just gonna stand by and let you keep me silent!?"

_ Hyde, take it easy, you don't know what he can do! _

Anti played with the tip of his knife, absently looking at the portal. “Y̧̛o̶̡̧u̡͘ d̢͡o k̷͘ņ̀͠ơ̡̡͘w w͠h̛̀ą̶̕͟t̶̡ h̸̴a̶͜͠ṕ̵̢ṕ̷e̢͠҉͟ns̴͘ i̴f͏̀ M̡͜a̸̡͟͡rv̶̛͢i̵n͏ aǹ͏d̵͟͝ y̡o̸͏̧u̴͟͠͝ k̕ee͘͟p̡ g̶̵o̷i҉ng̴̡̢ th̛̛é͟ w̶̧͘̕a̴̡̢͜y͟͏̶͝ ý̶̡ǫu ar҉͢e, ri͢͟͟g̕h̶҉t͡?”

Hyde froze, stepping back just a bit. For once in his life, Edward Hyde had no words.

_ How do you know about them!? _Jekyll flared with a rage, realizing the risk that his friends were at.

“Ć̶̶͞a̷l̨͝͏̶l͏́͟ i̴̧t̴͘…iņt́́u̡͢͡it͢i̶̢o̶̕͟n̵̶͜͢.” He spun on his heel. “B̸ư͡͞t I͏͜’m̴̴͢͡ g͏e͡t̢͝t͏̵͝in̶̢͟͢g a͘͢h̢͡͡͠e̸͜ad o̷̕f̶̢̢ m̸y͢s͏̢͟͟e҉͘ĺ͢f! Y̛ou̧͠ d̷́́o ķ͘n͝͏ơ̡ẃ̡͟ w̧͝͡h̴͘á̷̡t̷̢̢͘ h̴̢͝͞a̷͘҉̧p̴̛͜͞p̵e͡ns͝, d̛o͠n’t͡ yơ͝҉͏ų͝͝?”

"N-no… what happens?" Hyde took another step back, preparing to bolt.

Anti leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Y̢͡҉o҉҉ų̀̕͟ s̢͜͏͞ee̷̷̢̛, the p͢͢òr̴ţ̶͟͝a͞l̸̡̛͞ wi̶̶͘l̸̷l҉̡̕ cl̴̸̢͜o̵̢͟se̵. I’m̴ ** _s̶̢u̵̕r̷͝é̕͞_ ** y̵o͞u҉͏ c̀an fį̶̛g̵u̸͢r̨e ou̴͜t̀͞ w̶͝h҉̀͟͞a͏t͡͠ th̡̛a̕t̴ me̡҉a̕n̡s̵̛̀͟.”

_ Hyde, we need to leave, now. _

** _You don't need to tell me twice! _ **Hyde turned around, sprinting out of the alley and going the opposite direction of the house. He wasn't gonna let that freak track him, not now, not ever!

Anti leaned with one arm against another house in front of them, watching the light glint off his knife again. As the two passed he said, “I’d̨͘͟͢ h̵̀͜ą̵͝t̶̀́e͢ t̢͞͡o̶̢ ś̕͜͞ee h̷̨̡o͏͢w y̶̛o̸͡ur̛̕̕͞ f̢͜ŗ̸i̶ȩ̶̷́n̢͠d́҉̛͜s͏͟͞͝ w̛̛̕͟ò̶̧̡u̵̢̧͜ld̶͏̨̀ r̢eą́͘ct̶͝, n̸̵͠e̢͢v̀͏͞è̸̴r̴͡ e҉́̀v̡̨e҉͟͏̀n̨ ģ́͢͟e̛͝tţ̷i͞n̢̧͢͝ǵ̵͠ t͢h͏e͘ c҉̀ḩ͞a͠ń̸c̸̶͟͏e to͘ ş̴͠ee t̶̶̵͘h̶é n̵̶̨̨e̶̛̕͘w frí͘͢e̶̡̕ņ̨͞͡d̡ş̷́̕ t͜͠͠h̀҉̷̡e͝͠y̵͠͞ m͢a̶̵͘͠d̛e̴̸͢͝. E̷͜҉͢sp̴ę̸͏͞c̴͟͠i̢a̢̢͜͞ll̷͢͝y i͏͘f͘̕͟͞ t̷͡heir͘ l͏e̷ad̡̨͡er k҉̧n͏ew̴͞͝ t̷h͏͢͞͠e͘͜͢͡re̡ ẁ̸̨͡aş̸́͢ a̶̧n̶͘o͏̸t̨h̸̡̀͢er͘ ẃ̶̛à̵̵̢y̧͢͡…”

Hyde stopped in place, the alley dead silent except for the occasional static of Anti's glitching. That's when he heard it: the faint sound of yelling, growing louder and louder in his ears. "N-No! We'd figure something out! We would, I promise!" He covered his ears, his eyes twisting shut as he continued to run down the street.

Once again, he appeared in front of him, this time sitting on a windowsill. “A̷̛r̢̨̧͝è̶͜͞ y̵̡̨͡óu ş̶͜u̕re͜ a͏͟bo͝ų҉̡t͜ t͡ḩ͟͠à̢͝͞ţ̀͞͡? If̛̕͠ oǹ̷̨͡ly͘ t͞h͠é̵r̶ę̵̡͜ ẃ̧͜ę̢͞rȩ̴̀͢ s̸̨̨̀om̨͟͞ę̶͟ w̡̧a̸̴̕y̵ I̕͞͞͝ c̶̛͠o̸̧͡ul̢d͏ h̛͢e̶l̵̨͞p̷̢. I̡͢’d h̨͜͢a҉̷̕͟t̶̵͝e̶͡ t̶̵̀͜o̢͢͟͞ s̡̨ee̸͞ a͞ f̵̨r͡i̸̶e͘͢͝͡nd so͏͘͟ u҉p͝s̶͢͜et̴̡͡͝!”

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" He ran across the street, through an alley, and hopped a fence. He wasn't stopping, his legs wouldn't let him stop. If he stopped he would never move again. He had to get home, he had to find a way, he couldn't do this!

A whisper seemed to catch up with them even as they continued to pass him. His distorted, gravelly voice seeming to bounce around in their skulls.“N̷̸̛͡o͡w̕ r̴e̶̸͜me̴͢͟͡m̷b̴̴̵e͡r, t̴̸̢̀h̀͘͘͡i̴s͢ i̧̢ş̷́ o̡̢͞ư̷r l̵i̕͟͡t̴t̷̡̡͘ļ̶̧͢é͘͡ sec͝rè̶͢͡t̨̛. A̴f̴̴͏ţ̧e̸͝r a̧̛͏̸l͞͠l, sh̛͟ar҉̸̢ȩ̴͡͡d ş̴͠ec҉̵͞ŕe̶̸̢ts a͏͢҉̨r̶̨͜͞e m҉҉̵è̷̕͝a̴nt̴̨͢͞ ţ͜͡o b́͝e k̸͞ȩ̶͡͡p̨͞t̵͞ i̴̢n̴ t͟͞h̛́̀͜e g̴r͘o̢up. I̴̢͘͏’d͟ h̨̧҉͠a͘͜͞te̵̸͜ f̷͝o͏҉r̷̵͏̢ i̷t̕ t͡o͞͏...g͏̢͝e͟t̕͠͏͢ o̢̧̕u͏̷҉t.” There was a faint giggle. “Le̷҉̛t m̷e̶͟͢ k͘n͞ow҉͞ i̢̕͜͞f̡́͘͞ you̶͢͡ w̢̕͜ąnn͘͜͝҉a t̸͜͞͝a̡͘͜͝k̨̢ȩ͜ m̶̷̷̧e͘͜͝͝ up̛͟͝҉ ơ̛n̡̢͘ m҉̵y̸̛͞ ơ̴̕͝f̛fer̛̕͡.”

Hyde growled, doubling over before speaking. "I said. Leave. Me. ** _ALONE!_ ** _ " _He whipped around, throwing a punch but never making contact with anything. He was by himself. He was free, finally free! He collapsed, his breathing heavy as Jekyll manifested next to him. "What do we do now? He knows about… he knows about us. We're stuck."

_ We're being blackmailed. _ Jekyll sat with his legs crossed, his smoky hands folded in his lap. _ We have no choice but to listen to him, lest he tells someone. If he knows about Marvin, then who knows what else he knows about. _ He put his head in his hands, sighing. _ We have to go home. _

Hyde simply stared at the grass, barely finding the strength to lift himself up. He didn't leap across rooftops like normal, and he didn't scale any buildings. He simply walked all the way home.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the plot thickens... >:)

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, this chapter was so fun to write. Seriously, go give my friend some love. She may not write often, but she's so good!
> 
> Additionally, for those of you who have no idea what The Glass Scientists is I HIGHLY recommend it. It's such a good webcomic and I guarantee you will like it. No need to already be a J&H fan because of the musical like I was. Which you should also check that out, especially the version with Anthony Warlow. He has a voice like freaking MAGIC.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for your kudos and comments! They are both welcome, especially the comments. ^^


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